Thumper
11-12-2014, 12:25 PM
We have a very close friend here who is Chinese. She's from Hong Kong and "fled" to England before China took over because she simply didn't know what to expect from the commies, then she later came to the States. We've known she and her husband for 25 years and neither of them drive very well (typical!), so we usually take them everywhere they need to go. They've always been VERY generous and always pick up any tabs when we eat, plus put gas in the tank. Heck, she just handed me a $100 bill last week for driving her husband to the dealer to have their car serviced! We take them to Tampa or Orlando to eat and visit the big Chinese markets there. We just attended their Naturalization ceremony last year when they both became citizens. He's retired now and just sits at home watching ball games on TV, she's a nurse and works for a doctor's office in town. The extent of their driving is her going back and forth to work (about 5 miles) and him to the grocery store about 2 blocks away!
Anyway, she's confided in me that she and her husband basically live "apart" in the same house. They're too old to get a divorce (she's late 70's, he's in his 80's) and simply live separate lives in a way. They've been married like 30-35 years. They have a few kids, one lives in Australia, one in Texas and one in Orlando. She also has a brother here in town. She and I have always been close (I guess because I relate so well with Asians :D ) and she's comfortable confiding in me and discussing "personal" problems ... and I help her out any way I can ... usually with advice on how to handle certain situations.
Well, the other day she dropped a bomb shell on me. She called and asked if I could meet her at her work during her lunch hour and to please not mention anything to Lynn. (Lynn talks with her brother often) Ok, I drop by and she hands me a Certified Letter from an attorney in England. Then she drops a bomb on me by informing me she was married previously (we never knew it ... no clue if her present husband does). She and her ex-husband had a house in England and after their divorce, he kept the house, but it remained in both their names with the stipulation in the divorce papers that if he sells the house, the money will be split 50/50.
According to these papers, the house just sold for $6,000,000 frigging U.S. DOLLARS! Now she doesn't want her husband OR her family to know anything about it because they'll all be there immediately with their hands out! I'm not to mention it to Lynn because she's afraid it'll get back to her brother. She told me we've been helping them with EVERYTHING ever since they arrived in this country and she wants to take care of me for always being there for them. She then handed me $12,000 cash (all $100 bills) and asked if I could wire the money to this attorney in England as he will be handling the deal.
Ok, red flags flew up immediately ... I hope this ain't no dang Nigerian scam! I checked out the attorney and he seems legit. I checked out the construction firm and they are HUGE in England. I don't know the story but am wondering if this firm bought the house to tear down and build a high-rise or something? (pure speculation on my part) Anyway, as far as I can tell, the deal is legit. I asked her how the heck she plans on hiding $3,000,000!!!??? It's supposedly going to be deposited in an account and they're going to send her a bank card (debit card?). It all sounds crazy, but she swears it's above board.
Ok, some of you bean counters out there ... I'm sure there are going to be tax implications here and she's clueless about that sort of thing. They always have H&R Block or somebody do their taxes, but I think this is a little out of their league ... PLUS, there's the fact she's trying to keep all this from her family to avoid a rush of money grubbers. I have to admit, this is a bit over my head as well and I really don't know how to advise her. My first instinct is to have her hire an attorney (accountant?) to handle all of this, but I don't think she'll lean that way. I'm her go-to guy and I've always taken care of her ... so it's in my lap. I'm heading to the bank in about 30 mins. (I know the bank manager pretty well, so maybe he can give me a bit of guidance).
This is frigging crazy! How do I get myself into these things? :(
Anyway, she's confided in me that she and her husband basically live "apart" in the same house. They're too old to get a divorce (she's late 70's, he's in his 80's) and simply live separate lives in a way. They've been married like 30-35 years. They have a few kids, one lives in Australia, one in Texas and one in Orlando. She also has a brother here in town. She and I have always been close (I guess because I relate so well with Asians :D ) and she's comfortable confiding in me and discussing "personal" problems ... and I help her out any way I can ... usually with advice on how to handle certain situations.
Well, the other day she dropped a bomb shell on me. She called and asked if I could meet her at her work during her lunch hour and to please not mention anything to Lynn. (Lynn talks with her brother often) Ok, I drop by and she hands me a Certified Letter from an attorney in England. Then she drops a bomb on me by informing me she was married previously (we never knew it ... no clue if her present husband does). She and her ex-husband had a house in England and after their divorce, he kept the house, but it remained in both their names with the stipulation in the divorce papers that if he sells the house, the money will be split 50/50.
According to these papers, the house just sold for $6,000,000 frigging U.S. DOLLARS! Now she doesn't want her husband OR her family to know anything about it because they'll all be there immediately with their hands out! I'm not to mention it to Lynn because she's afraid it'll get back to her brother. She told me we've been helping them with EVERYTHING ever since they arrived in this country and she wants to take care of me for always being there for them. She then handed me $12,000 cash (all $100 bills) and asked if I could wire the money to this attorney in England as he will be handling the deal.
Ok, red flags flew up immediately ... I hope this ain't no dang Nigerian scam! I checked out the attorney and he seems legit. I checked out the construction firm and they are HUGE in England. I don't know the story but am wondering if this firm bought the house to tear down and build a high-rise or something? (pure speculation on my part) Anyway, as far as I can tell, the deal is legit. I asked her how the heck she plans on hiding $3,000,000!!!??? It's supposedly going to be deposited in an account and they're going to send her a bank card (debit card?). It all sounds crazy, but she swears it's above board.
Ok, some of you bean counters out there ... I'm sure there are going to be tax implications here and she's clueless about that sort of thing. They always have H&R Block or somebody do their taxes, but I think this is a little out of their league ... PLUS, there's the fact she's trying to keep all this from her family to avoid a rush of money grubbers. I have to admit, this is a bit over my head as well and I really don't know how to advise her. My first instinct is to have her hire an attorney (accountant?) to handle all of this, but I don't think she'll lean that way. I'm her go-to guy and I've always taken care of her ... so it's in my lap. I'm heading to the bank in about 30 mins. (I know the bank manager pretty well, so maybe he can give me a bit of guidance).
This is frigging crazy! How do I get myself into these things? :(