Bankrupt couple had millions stashed in Colleyville home, federal complaint says
02:59 PM CDT on Thursday, October 7, 2010
By TAYLOR ADAMS / The Dallas Morning News
tadams@dallasnews.com
Federal agents who raided a bankrupt Colleyville couple’s home seized nearly $6 million packed in duffel bags, safes and sealed bags.
A federal complaint filed last month against the couple, Larry and Kathy Lake, accuses them of concealing assets when they declared bankruptcy in 2004, laundering money and avoiding income taxes.
While the IRS was under the impression that the Lakes were broke, authorities say, they were actually transferring large sums of money among various bank accounts.
The government hopes to obtain nearly $13.8 million from the Lakes.
Attempts to reach the couple's attorneys were unsuccessful.
In the past four years, the Lakes have deposited money in at least 10 different bank accounts in four banks, according to court documents. From January 2006 to June 2009, their cash deposits to these accounts totaled more than $8 million, authorities say.
Larry Lake, 64, filed for voluntary bankruptcy on Nov. 17, 2004. During the case, he filed reports concerning the assets of both him and his wife.
The day before his filing, Lake transferred about $2.7 million from an E*Trade account in his name to a joint account for him and his wife, court documents say.
In the November 2009 search, agents found cash throughout the Lakes’ home: more than $275,000 in a small duffel bag, more than $1 million in a large duffel bag, $166,000 in a small safe, more than $4 million in a large safe and more than $80,000 in 17 separate sealed bags.
The couple has owned their house on Eaton Circle in Colleyville since December 2006. Appraisal district records list the home’s value at $900,000, but the government is not proposing to take their home.
Larry Lake is a pharmacist who owns a number of companies, including VIP Finance and Cash Auto Sales. Kathy Lake, 54, owns companies such as AIR IQ.
Larry Lake has two previous charges: one accusing him of stealing $50 from a friend’s sister and another for unlawfully carrying a loaded weapon.
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That sure has a familiar ring to it. Scammers declaring bankruptcy while making hilarious fraudulent transfers has come up on these boards before. Our ever amusing MLM scammers will claim to be multi-millionaire earners when looking for marks to sucker, but destitute and desperate when in the bankruptcy court.
Soapboxmom
