Elderly couple not quite bankrupt as millions of assets in offshore Belize

Belize is sometimes advertised as a hideaway and a getaway. And an elderly US couple, thought it would be a great place to hide millions of dollars. The couple got into major trouble for hiding the millions in Belize because there were involved in a bankruptcy proceeding. After a year on the run, eighty-seven year old Michael Mastro and his sixty-two year old wife Linda of Medina, Washington, were caught in France on Wednesday. They were arrested on the strength of a warrant and now face a forty-three count indictment, including bankruptcy fraud crimes and money laundering. The hidden assets are said to include diamond rings, a Rolls Royce vehicle and a fifteen million dollar home. Federal prosecutors also say the Mastro’s transferred over seven hundred thousand dollars from their hidden bank accounts to pay car loans for a 2006 Range Rover, a 2007 Bentley Continental and a 2008 Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe as well as to make a bulk purchase of gold coins and cover other expenses. According to US news reports, Michael Mastro owed millions of dollars to family and friends who invested with him in real estate. But after being forced into bankruptcy by creditors and claiming they had no assets, the couple continued a living the high life. They sought to protect their assets by transferring them into an off-shore trust in Belize that was set up in October 2008.