U.S. Looks To Seize $12.5M In Assets Linked To Philippines Pork-Barrel Scam
LOS ANGELES, July 15 (UPI) — The United States Justice Department said it wants to seize some $12.5 million in U.S. assets belonging to Filipino business woman Janet Lim Napoles, suspected of embezzling millions from bribery and kickback schemes.
The Justice Department’s civil forfeiture complaint is looking to gain control of California properties, including a Los Angeles luxury condominium and a Porsche, which Napoles purchased for herself and family members “in an effort to disguise and enjoy her ill-gotten gains.” Prosecutors said Napoles used U.S. assets to launder proceeds from her foreign bribery schemes.
“Over nearly a decade, Janet Napoles allegedly stole millions of dollars in funds entrusted to her for development assistance and disaster relief for the people of the Philippines,” said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell. “In an effort to disguise and enjoy her ill-gotten gains, Napoles purchased properties and other assets in the United States for herself and her family members, including a condominium at the Ritz and a Porsche. The Justice Department will not allow the United States to become a playground for the corrupt or a place to hide and invest stolen riches.”
Authorities say Napoles, 51, bribed Philippine officials from 2004 to 2013 in exchange for more than $200 million in funding to develop disaster relief and assistance centers, which she either failed to develop or underdeveloped. She allegedly transferred some $12 million in government-awarded funds to U.S. bank accounts and used the money to buy assets that also include a motel, a 2007 Porsche Boxer and a home in Irvine, Calif.
Napoles, two of her children, numerous officials including senators and government ministers, have been charged in the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam or pork-barrel scam. Napoles, who has pleaded not guilty in the corruption case, is currently in prison for the 2014 kidnapping of her cousin, who was a whistleblower in the case.
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