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Taking over a personal account involves having someone else open an
account with an authorized user who then takes over the account. Opening an account under an assumed name may be discovered by an SSN database check
and probably violates several State and/or federal laws. Opening a business account may be a preferable option. The bank representative will probably ask for
• Corporate resolutions—corporate directors meeting
• EIN or TIN—applied for using IRS Form SS-4
• DBA certificate—a Doing Business As form filed with the city or county clerk
• Business address—a mail drop, residence, or other address
• Business telephone—an answering service, voice mail, prepaid cell
phone, or MagicJack type phone
• Declaration of trust—recorded at the deeds registry (for real prop-
erty); an assertion by a property owner that he or she holds property
or an estate for the benefit of another person or for particular desig-
nated objectives
Offshore banking is another alternative for personal privacy, identity changing, or an UC operation. Such accounts are often associated with criminals, but are also used by the rich and famous, corporations and businesses, privacy seekers, and government and intelligence agencies. Often they require a minimum deposit and balance (sometimes as little at $5000). Countries that are known for strict banking privacy laws include Switzerland, the Bahamas, Canada, Panama, and the Caymans. Some banks that have been reported
with good reputations include the following:
• Robecco Bank, Geneva, Switzerland
• Anker Bank, Lausanne, Switzerland
• Standard Chartered Bank (House), St. Helier, Jersey
• Piazza Financial Services, LTD, London, United Kingdom
For more information on such services, try checking privacy@privacyworld.
com (fiscal tax shelters or havens). Caveat: The Swiss have been cooperating on a regular basis with agencies like the IRS, where it is believed the money on deposit came from criminal activity.
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It is illegal for U.S. citizens to have more than $10,000 in foreign banks without reporting it to the U.S. government. It is not illegal to move money to another bank or investment. It may, however, be illegal to move assets into offshore accounts without declaring their existence to tax authorities.
(Taxes must be paid on income from any source, no matter where it comes
from.) However, protection of assets from litigation or seizure may be a privacy advantage to such accounts.
Few, if any, banks still offer purely numbered accounts, where no name is required and deposits or transfers are only made using a code number. Most banks will not bother with small accounts and the transfer charges will soon deplete a small account. The cost of setting up an account ranges from $750
to $1500. It may be prudent to consider creating a corporation in a haven country to keep the money out of your name and avoid the problem of being a foreign account holder.
It is also possible to open an offshore credit card or ATM card (VISA, MasterCard, etc.), allowing one to withdraw funds anywhere in the world
with minimal record keeping. Most will want a secured deposit. Carefully
choose both the country and the bank to make sure they are trustworthy.
A reputable attorney in that country may be helpful. Other overseas investments, such as Swiss annuities, may be another option.
There is nothing illegal about moving funds outside the United States.
The U.S. economy is dependent upon international trade. Since all U.S. global trade is transacted in U.S. dollars, there would be no imports or exports without such transfers. Most U.S. banks accept deposits from persons overseas and often invest in foreign stocks and hold accounts with foreign banks.
The IRS, however, wants to keep track of everyone’s liquid assets.
INTER-FIPOL (International Fiscal Police) has been described by tax
avoidance advocates as an Orwellian “super-national police force.” It is a European organization for “mutual assistance for the recovery of tax claims”
and the “international exchange of fiscal and other data.” Little is known about this “secret financial police force.”
Legal avoidance: Many tax evaders open accounts in fictitious names and
use mail forwarding and pickup drops for privacy. In some cases an account may be opened for as little as $100 and may draw higher interest than in U.S.
banks or credit unions. They usually only allow a liquidity factor (insurance) of around 10% of the public deposits and many are self-insured.
The IRS requires a Treasury Form 90.22-1 Report of Foreign Bank and
Financial Accounts to be completed and submitted to the IRS by June 30 of each year for any foreign accounts. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act outlines which monetary instruments (checks, money orders, etc.) must be reported. You may not be required to report personal checks or money orders payable to you, if it is restrictively endorse (made payable to the order of the bank) or checks or money orders
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payable to an offshore bank. Most countries (except the United States and the Philippines) do not tax income earned outside of their countries.
The investigator, intelligence officer, or one hoping for financial privacy should be familiar with methods of finding hidden assets.
• Passports evidencing travel to destinations such as Switzerland, the
Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, Isle of Man, the Netherlands Antilles,
and other banking and tax havens.
• Telephone, cell phone, and FAX phone record to undisclosed busi-
ness connections and contacts.
• Credit card statements indicating travel, products purchased, and
who one does business with.
• Using mail covers to identify those one has a relationship with.
• Bank transactions—withdrawals of $3000 or more must be reported
to the federal government by your bank, whether by cash, check, or
electronic transfer.
• Checking private courier logs (UPS, DHL, FedEx, Airborne Express, etc.).
Court-Ordered (Legal) Name Change
Changing identity is not illegal, but many of the methods of documenting a new identity are. It is possible to legally change one’s identity while retaining at least some of the covert benefits. The objective is to create a paper trip that leaves no connection between the old and new identity. A legal name change creates a nexus between the old and new identity, but there are methods to help obscure this link.
One method is the use method in which one simply starts using a new name in everyday business and becomes generally known by that name in
the community.
• Some states require a notarized declaration of name-change form.
• Most states require a legal name change in order to receive a driver’s license and/or voter registration card. This usually requires a petition to be filed with the court having jurisdiction. If no objections
are made, a name-change order is usually issued.
• Other states have a residency requirement of anywhere from 6 weeks
to 6 months and some proof of residency.
• Still other states require name changes to be published in a local
newspaper or record.
Once you have a court order for a new name change, you can establish
your new identity by registering to vote and getting a driver’s license or State ID card. You will need the name-change order and a certified copy of your
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original birth certifi
cate. If you want to avoid a link to your old identity, you may want to get only a State ID card, and then go to another State using the new ID to get a driver’s license. Immediately surrendering your old license for a new one creates a link (nexus) to your new identity. Obtaining a new SSN or a passport will, however, create a nexus.
Half the states require less than half the trouble to get a legal name
change than the other half does. In other words, half the states have
very stringent requirements for a name change. States that have the least problems involving name changes include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas,
California, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah,
Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
In the United Kingdom and other countries, you may be able to have a
legal name change without going through any legal procedures, but you will need to complete a legal deed-poll name change by downloading an application from the Ministry of Justice.
The key to a new or cover identity is planning and vigilance to detection.
You must have a credible cover story and live it.
Appendix: Indiana Name Change Statute (IC 34-28-2,
Chapter 2, “Change of Name”)
An example of state name change statutes is the Indiana statute. This statutes reads in part:
IC 34-28-2-1 Petition to Circuit Court
Sec. 1. Except as provided in section 1.5 of this chapter, the circuit courts in Indiana may change the names of natural persons on application by petition.
As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.24. Amended by P.L.18-1998, SEC.1.
IC 34-28-2-1.5 Incarcerated Persons May Not
Petition for Change of Name
Sec. 1.5. A person may not petition for a change of name under this chapter if the person is confined to a department of correction facility.
As added by P.L.18-1998, SEC.2.
IC 34-28-2-2 Filing Petition; Procedure
for Change of Name of Minor
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Sec. 2.
(a) The petition described in section 1 of this chapter must include the following:
(1) If applicable, include the information required by section 2.5 of
this chapter
(2) In the case of a petition filed by a person described in section 2.5
of this chapter, be subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed)
(A) Under the penalties of perjury
(B) Before a notary public or other person authorized to admin-
ister oaths
(3) Be filed with the circuit court of the county in which the person
resides.
(b) In the case of a parent or guardian who wishes to change the name
of a minor child, the petition must be verified, and it must state in
detail the reason the change is requested. In addition, except where a
parent’s consent is not required under IC 31-19-9, the written consent
of a parent, or the written consent of the guardian if both parents are
dead, must be filed with the petition.
(c) Before a minor child’s name may be changed, the parents or guardian
of the child must be served with a copy of the petition as required by
the Indiana trial rules.
As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.24. Amended by P.L.61-2010, SEC.1.
IC 34-28-2-2.5 Contents of Petition
Sec. 2.5.
(a) If a person petitioning for a change of name under this chapter is at least 17 years of age, the person’s petition must include at least the
following information:
(1) The person’s date of birth
(2) The person’s current
(A) Residence address
(B) If different than the person’s residence address, mailing
address
(3) The person’s valid
(A) Indiana driver’s license number
(B) Indiana identification card (as described in IC 9-24-16) number
(4) A list of all previous names used by the person
(5) Proof that the person is a U.S. citizen
(6) A statement concerning whether the person holds a valid U.S.
passport
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(7) A description of all judgments of criminal conviction of a felony
under the laws of any state or the United States that have been
entered against the person.
(b) A petition under subsection (a) is subject to Indiana Rules of Court Administrative Rule 9.
As added by P.L.61-2010, SEC.2.
IC 34-28-2-3 Notice of Petition
Sec. 3.
(a) Upon filing a petition for a name change, the applicant shall give
notice of the petition as follows:
(1) By 3 weekly publications in a newspaper of general circulation
published in the county in which the petition is filed in court.
(2) If no newspaper is published in the county in which the petition
is filed, the applicant shall give notice in a newspaper published
nearest to that county in an adjoining county.
(3) The last weekly publication shall be published not less than 30
days before the day the petition will be heard as indicated in the
notice.
(b) In the case of a petition described in section 2(b) of this chapter, the notice required by this section must include the following:
(1) The name of the petitioner
(2) The name of the minor child whose name is to be changed
(3) The new name desired
(4) The name of the court in which the action is pending
(5) The date on which the petition was filed
(6) A statement that any person has the right to appear at the hear-
ing and to file objections
(c) Except as provided in section 1.5 of this chapter, in the case of a
person who has had a felony conviction within 10 years before
filing a petition for a change of name, at least 30 days before
the hearing the petitioner must give notice of the filing of the
petition to
(1) The sheriff of the county in which the petitioner resides
(2) The prosecuting attorney of the county in which the petitioner
resides
(3) The Indiana central repository for criminal history information
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(d) The notice given to the Indiana central repository for criminal his-
tory information under subsection (c) must include the petitioner’s
full current name, requested name change, date of birth, address,
physical description, and a full set of classifiable fingerprints
(e) The Indiana central repository for criminal history information shall forward a copy of any criminal records of the petitioner to the court
for the court’s information
(f) A copy of the court decree granting or denying such a petition shall be sent to the Indiana state police
(g) A person who violates subsection (c) commits a Class A misdemeanor
As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.24. Amended by P.L.18-1998, SEC.3; P.L.1-1999, SEC.72; P.L.61-2010, SEC.3.
IC 34-28-2-4 Proof of Publication; Time of Hearing;
Notice Requirements; Determination on Petition
Sec. 4.
(a) Proof of the publication required in this chapter is made by filing a copy of the published notice, verified by the affidavit of a disinterested person, and when proof of publication is made, the court shall,
; subject to the limitations imposed by subsections (b), (c), and (d),
proceed to hear the petition and make an order and decree the court
determines is just and reasonable.
(b) In the case of a petition described in section 2(b) of this chapter, the court may not hear the petition and issue a final decree until after
30 days from the later of
(1) The filing of proof of publication of the notice required under
subsection (a)
(2) The service of the petition upon the parents or guardian of the
minor child
(c) In the case of a petition described in section 2(b) of this chapter, the court shall set a date for a hearing on the petition if
(1) Written objections have been filed
(2) Either parent or the guardian of the minor child has refused or
failed to give written consent as described in section 2(b) of this
chapter
The court shall require that appropriate notice of the hearing be
given to the parent or guardian of the minor child or to any person
who has filed written objections.
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(d) In deciding on a petition to change the name of a minor child, the
court shall be guided by the best interest of the child rule under
IC 31-17-2-8. However, there is a presumption in favor of a parent of
a minor child who
(1) Has been making support payments and fulfilling other duties
in accordance with a decree issued under IC 31-15, IC 31-16, or
IC 31-17 (or IC 31-1-11.5 before its repeal)
(2) Objects to the proposed name change of the child
(e) In the case of a person required to give notice under section 3(c) of this chapter, the petitioner must certify to the court that he or she
has complied with the notice requirements of that subsection
As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.24. Amended by P.L.61-2010, SEC.4.
IC 34-28-2-5 Court Decree as Evidence; Copy Sent to