Dan Ahlers, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in South Dakota, thinks the state has created a monster when it comes to South Dakota’s secretive $3 trillion trust industry.
“I don’t want South Dakota to be the equivalent of offshore accounts in other countries where people hide their money,” said Dan Ahlers.
“I don’t want South Dakota to be known for that and I don’t think that’s the reputation that the people of South Dakota want.”
Dan Ahlers was commenting on the growing national publicity surrounding the divorce of Ed and Marie Bosarge. Marie’s lawyers claim Ed Bosarge fraudulently hid more than $2 billion in South Dakota trusts in an attempt to cheat her out of community property.
“It’s getting so much traction, so much publicity that we are now going to get a flood of people going ‘Hey, I can shirk my obligations by just moving everything to South Dakota and putting it into a trust,’” Dan Ahlers said.
“I would prefer that we do the right thing, that we respect decisions that are made in other states and that we are not a haven.”
Once the Houston courts reopen, a jury will decide if the Houston billionaire defrauded his wife. A South Dakota court has already rejected Marie Bosarge’s claims. If 312th Family District Court Judge Chip Wells and a Harris County jury find that Ed Bosarge committed fraud and transferred money illegally into the South Dakota trusts, will South Dakota ensure that Marie Bosarge is made whole?
“I don’t think the laws of South Dakota, the State of Texas or anything we might imagine somehow frees him of an obligation that he has undertaken at the time he married Mrs. Bosarge,” said Judge Chips Wells in a February 2020 hearing in Texas.
“Most of the legislators had no intent to allow people to skirt the law in other states. That would never have been our intent,” Dan Ahlers said.
Many of the trust laws were amended while Senator Mike Rounds was South Dakota’s Governor. It is the secrecy of the South Dakota trusts that is worrying Dan Ahlers.
“Open records are not important to him and haven’t been. He had to be taken to court just to get the names of the people who were invited to the pheasant hunt. Those were records that have always been open until he was Governor. These bills came from his Department of Revenue,” Dan Ahlers said.
Dan Ahlers also talked about the tax money being hidden in these South Dakota trusts.
“What’s the economic benefit to South Dakota other than allowing people to hide their money and in some cases potentially break the law in another state. I think that is the question that has to be asked locally,” Ahlers said.
The Rounds campaign did not respond to our request for comment. The members of the Governor’s trust task force have all refused comment.
Billionaire Ed Bosarge has made headlines in CNBC, The Wall Street Journal and international publications for trying to cheat his wife of 30 years out of her fair share. This is the latest release in the Ed and Marie Bosarge divorce unfolding in South Dakota and Houston.
Press release
A veteran South Dakota lawmaker worries the state is choosing money over morality with the growing secrecy and tax evasion of the powerful trust industry.
“Having any publicity, as far as they’re concerned that doesn’t come from them, they don’t want it,” Rep. Susan Wismer said in an interview with Dolcefino Consulting.
Rep. Susan Wismer spoke out on the growing controversy involving a Texas divorce case and how South Dakota law may cheat a wife of 30 years.
Texas billionaire Ed Bosarge moved upwards of $2.3 billion into secretive South Dakota trusts without Marie Bosarge knowing, everything from mansions they own to sponges in the kitchen of their huge Texas mansion.
Now she’s fighting in courts in Houston and Sioux Falls to get her rightful share of the money they made in their 30-year marriage.
“It’s community property. It’s fifty-fifty. I want what’s fair. It’s my money too, you know. That’s what’s so frustrating,” said Marie Bosarge.
CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, even international publications have raised questions about the high-stakes divorce case and the way the rich, like Houston billionaire Ed Bosarge, are using South Dakota tax laws to hide their fortunes.
Last year, the Chief Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court said $3.2 trillion is now being hidden in South Dakota from taxation, and sometimes even from family members.
“I’m offended that South Dakota’s trust laws are being used by anyone, but rich people to avoid their familial responsibilities that they wouldn’t be able to evade if South Dakota hadn’t created this little trust empire here,” Wismer said.
The Texas judge in the Bosarge case has warned Ed Bosarge’s lawyers that he won’t let South Dakota law deprive a wife of her legal share.
“I don’t think the laws of South Dakota, the State of Texas or anything that we might imagine somehow frees him of an obligation that he has undertaken at the time he married Mrs. Bosarge,” said Judge Clinton Wells in a court hearing before the Coronavirus pandemic shut down the Harris County courthouse.
Ed Bosarge showed up in a wheelchair for his deposition and his lawyers claimed last month he had the Coronavirus, but pictures in a culture magazine showed him at dinner a few nights ago with the young Russian girlfriend he apparently left his wife for.
“I think that if the majority of South Dakota legislators were aware of this some of these more egregious cases it might help us but the brakes on this industry a little bit,” Wismer said.
The shutdown of Houston courts has delayed the trial until later this year, but Wismer hopes the publicity surrounding the case will wake up her colleagues at the State Capitol.
“I think it’s important that the South Dakota legislature become aware of this issue and consider the real time, real life consequences to people around the country of, of their actions,” Wismer said.
“I do not think South Dakotans want their state to be used by every person who wants to cheat his partner out of money, but if Marie loses her fight that is exactly what could happen,” said Wayne Dolcefino, President of Dolcefino Consulting. “No woman would be safe.”
The Wismer interview is part of an investigative report by Dolcefino Consulting called “South Dakota’s Little Secret”.
The video can be seen on Dolcefino Consulting’s Facebook page or www.dolcefino.com.
The coronavirus pandemic has already delayed the planned jury trial this month for Ed Bosarge, the Houston billionaire accused of trying to cheat his wife of 30 years out of their shared fortune.
Now the 80-year-old Houston medical center pioneer says he has COVID-19. The medical breaking news came just as the Wall Street Journal highlighted the contentious legal battle that exposes the way the uber rich try to hide their money.
The headline: “A Houston billionaire is accused of using a complex web of trusts and limited liability companies to prevent his wife from accessing cash and the 13 homes they acquired together.”
Ed and Marie Bosarge bought mansions, yachts and even a Bahamian island during their 30-year marriage. Marie Bosarge says she never knew Ed Bosarge was secretly moving everything, even down to kitchen sponges, into secretive South Dakota trusts to cut her out, all while he was spending lavishly on his young Russian girlfriend.
Image source: edbosarge.com
Judge Chip Wells had set the high-stakes divorce case for trial in April, but the case is being delayed. The health of Ed Bosarge is now a front and center issue.
Wells has blasted lawyers for Mr. Bosarge in recent court hearings.
“I don’t think the laws of South Dakota, the State of Texas or anything that we might imagine somehow frees him of an obligation that he has undertaken at the time he married Mrs. Bosarge,” Judge Wells angrily told Ed Bosarge’s lawyers. “Scheme may be the key word… We can play this game… with regard to fraud on the community estate… I promise you it’s not going to go well… I don’t have to tolerate your disrespect.”
Attorney Bucky Allshouse says if Ed Bosarge gets away with his plan then no wife would be safe.
“I want him to be fair. You know, we made our money in Houston. It’s community property. It’s fifty-fifty. I want what’s fair,” said Marie Bosarge.
Harris County State District Judge Chip Wells is set to rule this week on the high stakes divorce battle involving eccentric Houston billionaire Ed Bosarge.
Attorneys for Marie Bosarge claim the billionaire owns mansions, yachts and even a Bahamian Island but is trying to leave her penniless after their 30 years of marriage. One of their Houston mansions was originally put on the market for $43 billion.
Ed and Marie Bosarge had only one house and faced
foreclosure when they got married. They amassed a fortune during their
decades-long marriage. Experts say Bosarge may have $2.3 billion in secretive
South Dakota trusts created to cheat his wife.
Her lawyer says that fraudulent scheme even included trying to hide in the trust a 43-carat diamond necklace he gave Marie for Christmas.
Wells hasn’t ruled whether the divorce case will go to a
jury, but when Ed Bosarge’s lawyers suggested the judge had no choice but to
end the lawsuit, Wells exploded from the bench.
“I don’t think the laws of South Dakota frees him of an
obligation he made when he got married,” Judge Wells angrily told Ed Bosarge’s
lawyers. “Scheme may be the key word. Play this game. Fraud on the community
estate. I promise you it’s not going to go well. I don’t have to tolerate your
disrespect.”
Attorney Bucky Allshouse says if Ed Bosarge gets away with
his plan then no wife would be safe.
“I want him to be fair. You know, we made our money in
Houston. It’s community property. It’s fifty-fifty. I want what’s fair,” said
Marie Bosarge.
A family court showdown in Houston on Tuesday, January 28th, 2020 involves the attempt of Ed Bosarge, one of Houston’s richest men, to hide billions of dollars from his wife of 30 years.
The
big question for court observers is: Will Ed Bosarge dare to show up in Harris
County Family Court?
The 81-year-old Ed Bosarge is accused of vast amounts of fraud by his spouse – a sophisticated effort to hide his mansions, superyachts and private Bahamian Island in secretive trust accounts in South Dakota. The state has become famous as a place for the super wealthy to hide their assets.
During
the 2:00 p.m. court hearing, lawyers for Ed Bosarge will ask 312th
District Court Judge Chip Wells to throw out the fraud claims. The billionaire’s
wife, Marie Bosarge, claims the Medical Center pioneer and famed mathematician
started having an affair with his Russian girlfriend who is nearly 47 years
younger, and then systematically moved assets to what Marie calls “sham”
accounts before trying to end the marriage.
One
of the Bosarge mansions was called the most expensive house in Houston by the Houston Chronicle.
“It’s very disappointing. It’s sad,” said Marie Bosarge when questioned by Dolcefino Consulting.
“We’ve been married thirty years and he
is trying to take everything from me and leave me homeless basically.”
Ed
Bosarge is no stranger to allegations of fraud. The Houston entrepreneur was
charged decades ago by the Securities and Exchange Commission for securities
fraud and market manipulation, and former business partners at Houston trading
firm Quantlab filed lawsuits claiming that Bosarge pulled off a “tyrannical
coup.” Ed Bosarge lawyers have refused to comment.
The court hearing is set for Tuesday, January 28, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. in Judge Chip Wells’ courtroom, the 312th District Court on the 16th floor of the Harris County Civil Courthouse.
The 81-year old mathematician helped pioneer groundbreaking work in the Houston Medical Center and is trying to divorce his wife of 30 years and leave her homeless.
Ed Bosarge owns mansions across the world, at least two yachts, and an island in the Caribbean called Over Yonder Cay. He profiles his self-proclaimed visionary work on www.edbosarge.com.
When his largest palacial home on Carnovan was put on the market the Houston Chronicle profiled it as the most expensive mansion in Houston at $42 million dollars.
Bosarge has amassed a multi-billion-dollar fortune despite allegations of fraud along the way. In the early 1980’s the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Bosarge with securities fraud and market manipulation. The case was settled. Former business partners have accused Bosarge of a “tyrannical coup” in a legal fight over Houston based Quantlab, called one of the world’s most secretive and profitable high frequency trading companies. Bosarge is also now deeply invested in stem cell technology.
But it may be his divorce case that raises the most troubling questions about Ed Bosarge.
Court filings claim the Houston billionaire has a young Russian girlfriend – an affair that purportedly started long before the divorce was ever filed. Lawyers for Marie Bosarge claim Ed Bosarge systematically moved assets into South Dakota trusts as part of a scheme to keep the assets from his thirty-year marriage for himself. The Guardian newspaper recently profiled how the mega-rich use South Dakota trust laws to protect and hide their money. Marie’s lawyers say the “sham” trusts were set up to hide his money from his long-time spouse.
“We’ve been married thirty years and he is trying to take everything from me and leave me homeless basically,” Marie Bosarge told Dolcefino Consulting when we saw her outside a Galleria restaurant, “I just want what’s fair.”
Tuesday morning, lawyers for Ed Bosarge will ask Judge Chip Wells of the 312th District Court to dismiss Marie’s claims that Ed is trying to cheat her.
Will the billionaire show up to face his wife? Stay tuned.
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