US fraudster used stolen cash for Cayman home
(CNS Business): A Kansas City man who admitted embezzling over US$6.5 million from his bosses also used some of his ill-gotten gains to buy a pricey beach house in the Cayman Islands using Cayman National Bank, according to a release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri. Douglas Ferrell (34), who appeared in court last week charged with wire fraud and money laundering, stole the cash between 2006 and 2014 when he was working at Scarbrough International, a privately owned US customs broker and international freight forwarder.
Tom Larson, acting US attorney for the district, said Ferrell made a $650,000 wire transfer, including at least $475,625 in fraud proceeds, to Cayman National Bank to buy the beach house.
“Ferrell wired a total of more than $2,250,000 to purchase that property,” the release stated. “Ferrell also used embezzled funds to ship furnishings from the United States for the property and for additional construction and improvements to the property, including over $77,000 in payments to a Cayman Islands tile company. After the improvements, paid for with additional embezzled funds, the property was valued at over $2.6 million.”
Ferrell admitted embezzling approximately $6,523,742 from Scarbrough for his own use and enjoyment. He engaged in a scheme where he made unauthorised personal charges to the company’s credit card and PayPal.
Category: Featured, Finance, Financial Crime
Why name Cayman National Bank and not the “Cayman Islands tile company”?
Will there be any restitution i.e. commission on the sale of the property? Repossession of the property? Any disciplinary actions for the persons involved such as fines, prosecution, etc? From a national level, we must ensure steps are taken to protect the islands name and our strong ethics.
Nobody investigated the source of the funds used in the purchas
Note the classic laundering deflection: the USA-based, “fraud host” sending Fedwire bank, no doubt a 2009 recipient of Federal bailout funds, that actively laundered $6,523,742 is conveniently omitted by name and recused from responsibility in this reporting. They clearly had zero KYC on their client, nor adequate source of funds due diligence – yet the duped international receiving institution of a tenth of that amount is smeared by name to Congress and to the media. Why does Cayman National Bank earn the spotlight rather than the host institution or even the Cayman Islands Realtor?!? We need leaders in the Cayman Islands to finally stand up and take strong legal action against these cliché public smear tactics. It will never improve, no matter how many trail-blazing agreements and procedures we adopt, unless we grow a pair and defend the disproportionate PCMLATF, CRS, and FATF compliance that is in place within our banking sector (evidently) like no other money market on Earth.
This is Cayman news – no doubt the American bank got plenty of coverage in the US Press. Whatever, it seems that Cayman entities failed to comply with local laws and regulations.
When millions are involved, laws and regulations don’t count.
When you put a few k in your account they make it hell for you.
greed is greed…This Island is full of convenience rules…
This article is from a US Press Release from DoJ.
What happened to the Due Diligence/Know Your Customer procedures of both the bank and Real Estate agent – required under the Anti- Money Laundering Regulations – to determine the source of the funds. It will be interesting to see whether claims will be made against the vendor for recovery of the sale proceeds.
90% of funds have been recovered already.
And you know this ….. how????
This is a very interesting and very good question.
I happen to be a high net worth client of a local CI bank, and you would not believe the pages and pages and pages of documentation I needed to prove the source of my initial deposits, which I will admit, were considerable, because I was moving here permanently and purchasing several pieces of real estate. I continue to receive requests for an ever growing number of “new” forms to complete; all required by the US government even though I have no relation to that country.
So, I too ask the question about due-diligence of both the bank and the real estate agent.