Asset Tracing

Engagement
A Brazilian asset manager needed to investigate the assets of a prominent Brazilian real estate developer who had defaulted on a large loan to which the asset manager was a creditor.

Investigation
The developer was heavily in debt and appeared to have no assets. However, a closer look at his public profile, including a review of social media postings relevant to he and his family, uncovered links between the developer and real estate holdings in New York. Gryphon further identified a web of corporations that the developer had established in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, which were actively involved in the purchase and sale of tens of millions of dollars of real estate.

Result
After presenting these findings to the civil court in Brazil, our client received authorization to seize all of the developer’s known assets in the U.S. The seized property was auctioned off in order to cover the amount of the unpaid loan and two decades of unpaid interest.

Engagement
Gryphon was hired to recover combined judgments in excess of $100M against an individual and the sham home equity lending entities he operated.

Investigation
After reviewing 1,000+ documents in discovery, Gryphon identified 30 active entities, trusts and partnerships of which the defendant was a principal. We found significant assets, including over $50M in real property in the U.S. and U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as a watercraft, motor vehicles and an aircraft owned by the individual. We identified bank accounts and money transfers, including short-term, high-dollar mortgages the defendant and his entities secured on properties.

Result
Our client avoided a review of meaningless document dumps designed to obfuscate the target’s actual holdings. We provided the client with valuable advice on securing documents that were used to uncover additional asset transfers, current holdings and ongoing income streams as the case progressed.