13
HOW TO LOCATE A TRUSTWORTHY NOMINEE
As you know, an attorney filing a lawsuit may name anyone he pleases. If he is suing a corporation, he may also name the directors, the officers, and even the part-time secretary who writes the checks.
No matter how innocent you are, if you are named you have to defend yourself, and that costs time, money, and extreme aggravation.
So then, if you wish to remain invisible, your name must not surface anywhere. Is that difficult? Yes! But is it impossible? No, but you almost certainly cannot do this without the help of a proxy, or nominee. (Although the word nominee usually refers to a person nominated for a political office, in this book I use it in its secondary meaning: someone who takes your place as the apparent owner or manager of a company you own, or who opens a bank account for you and signs up for utilities and other services.)
Despite the tremendous advantages of using a nominee, few people are willing to do this. Some of the excuses offered are:
• “It’s too much trouble.”
• “I don’t know who to use.”
• “I don’t want this additional expense.”
• “I plan to get a nominee later on.”
The problem with “later on” is that problems often arrive with no advance warning. What if—unknown to you—a PI has tracked you down because a lawyer is about to file a frivolous lawsuit? Or a stalker is in town, determined to do you harm? Or Homeland Security, acting on a false tip, plans to send in a SWAT team as soon as they locate your true home address?
Hopefully, nothing similar will ever happen to you, just as you may never have an accident with your car or a fire in your home. But don’t you sleep better, knowing you have insurance?
ADVERTISE ON CRAIGSLIST
Most likely you are already familiar with Craigslist but if you are not, take a break here and check it out: www.craigslist.org. It is quite intuitive but if necessary, have a friend show you how to post an ad.
HOW TO INTERVIEW
One of my consulting clients is a young man in Seattle—I’ll call him Mike—who planned to move from Portland to a small town east of Seattle. Following my instructions, he purchased a waterfront cabin for cash, using a New Mexico limited liability company in order to hide his ownership. Then, when ready to make the move, he advertised on the Seattle Craigslist.
“I placed my ad,” Mike said, “under the title of ‘Personal Assistant’ in the ‘Part-time’ category. I didn’t give out the true nature of the position in this ad although I did mention that I was ‘privacy-oriented’ and expected complete discretion. I asked for an educated (preferably with a liberal arts degree) person who was well-organized, professional in demeanor and appearance, had at least an average credit rating, and who was seeking part-time work.”
But that was not all. Mike specified that the successful applicant “must have had some international travel experience, preferably outside Western democratic countries. My political science background and my own travels have taught me that many Americans have little understanding of how sadly lacking personal privacy and security are in many countries. We just don’t realize how precious our privacy really is. Travel abroad gives one a different perspective.”
Mike was dead on target when he asked for someone who had traveled or lived abroad. In my own case, had I not once lived under the dictatorship of Spain’s Generalissimo Francisco Franco, I would not be working in the field of privacy today.
In the week that followed, Mike received seven responses to his ad. All were from men. He first called each applicant and briefly interviewed the candidate on the telephone. He eliminated three of them and arranged to interview the other four at either a coffee shop or at an inexpensive restaurant. “I got to know each applicant” he said, “through some initial small talk. I explained that my goal was to have a more private lifestyle but that everything would be absolutely, positively legal. I then handed each man a copy of How to Be Invisible and told him to read it. In that way, he would understand the exact lifestyle I desired. I said if he liked what he read, then he would qualify for a second interview.”
All four candidates called Mike a few days later. Two said “No thanks,” but the other two agreed to meet again. At this second meeting, each man was quizzed to see if he had actually read the book, and was then asked for his impression of it.
The successful candidate, Mike said, “had not only read and understood the book, but had visited both Luna’s Web site and his blog and had ordered and read one of his e-books as well! The applicant was a recent college graduate who had just returned from a year of living in Eastern Europe. Our nominee arrangement began that very day.”
When the terms were agreed upon, Mike drew up a simple memorandum for both of them to sign. Thus, there would be no later misunderstanding about what each had agreed to do. Mike’s candidate, acting as his nominee, then undertook the following tasks, obtaining each service in his own name:
• Rent a PO box.
• Order cable TV.
• Sign up for all utilities.
• Obtain a cell phone.
HOW MUCH TO PAY THE NOMINEE
Although you may prefer to pay the nominee a flat sum to start, plus a lesser annual fee, Mike had a different plan. “I compensate the nominee for every new service he provides for me, plus reasonable expenses. For example, when he set up a PO box for me, I paid him for his time and driving expenses in addition to $120 for the annual fee of renting the box.
“For each utility, he receives the same amount as I pay. If the electric bill is $40 for the month, then I pay him $40 in cash and send a money order to the power company for the same amount. Thus, my nominee earns a 100 percent commission for every service. This doubles my costs for mail, cable, utilities, and phone but it provides a continuing incentive for him to continue.”
Mike’s arrangement with his nominee had now been in force for many years. When preparing this chapter, I e-mailed Mike for an update. “So far,” he answered, “no problems at all. The relationship is working well.”
HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR OWN PRIVACY
Do not give a nominee your true last name, your age, your date of birth, or your previous address. This is a business arrangement and should always remain such.
In Mike’s case, he used his true first name, but a different last name. He then programmed his cell phone with this message: “Hi, this is Mike. Please leave a message.” This works well, then, for any incoming call, whether from the nominee or from a friend.
MY OWN OPINIONS AS TO USING A STRANGER FOR A NOMINEE
I personally use longtime friends as nominees. However, were I someday to require the services of a stranger, I would—as Mike did—advertise on Craigslist. At our first meeting, if the applicant passed my initial inspection, in addition to lending him How to Be Invisible, I would ask for his passport. With his correct name and date of birth, I would then run Internet checks on at least these two sites:
Criminal History Check |
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Intelius |
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If all was well, then I would set up a schedule for a one-time flat-rate fee, plus an annual fee as long as his services were used.
PROTECT YOURSELF WITH A WRITTEN AGREEMENT
The sample form below, although not drawn up by an attorney—again, I’m not a lawyer, and this book doesn’t provide legal advice—is nevertheless clear and understandable. The various clauses are merely an example. Change them to suit your purposes. I strongly suggest you have your nominee sign it before a notary public. Keep the original in a safe place.
LIMITED POWER OF ATTORNEY
BE IT KNOWN, that I , [name of nominee], the undersigned, do hereby grant a limited power of attorney to [you, the reader], as my attorney. My attorney shall have full power and authority to undertake and perform the following on my behalf:
1. Make deposits and write checks on my account at [name of bank].
2. Form, amend, and cancel limited liability companies in any state.
3. Send and receive letters, instructions, and e-mails in my name.
4. Write letters, make requests, and order and receive merchandise in my name.
5. Accept payments on my behalf and sell and deliver reports on [subject of reports].
6. Engage in any other legitimate business on my behalf—including but not limited to the World Wide Web—and receive payments in my name.
7. Use funds sent to me for any purpose whatsoever.
My attorney agrees to accept this appointment subject to its terms, and agrees to act and perform in the said fiduciary capacity consistent with my best interests as he in his sole discretion deems advisable.
This power of attorney may be revoked by me at any time, provided that any person relying on this power of attorney shall have full rights to accept the authority of my attorney until in receipt of actual notice of revocation.
Signed this _____day of____________, 201__._______________________________________
Signature of nominee, with name printed below.
Subscribed and sworn before me on [date] by [nominee], to me known to be the person described in and who executed the foregoing instrument and acknowledged that he executed the same as his free act and deed.
[Notary’s signature and stamp.]
THE ABSOLUTE WORST FEAR FOR EVEN A LEVEL THREE PI
His worst fear is that you will move out of state and use a nominee for everything. And by everything I mean using a nominee to manage your LLCs, renting or leasing an apartment, for your landline phone, mobile phone, bank accounts, credit cards, utilities, pet licenses, cable connections, PO boxes, ghost addresses, and whatever else you need.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
I need a nominee for a bank account, but what’s to keep him from someday just taking the money for himself?
This chapter is about locating trustworthy nominees. However, if you do not trust them, then maintain just enough in the nominee account to cover the checks you write. (Or, use the nominee for everything else, but keep your bank account in your own name.)
I wish to have you, Mr. Luna, furnish a nominee who will open a bank account for me. I am willing to show you my passport, give you my SSN and DOB, and give you three ironclad references to prove that I am a solid citizen. If you wish to run my name on background searches, I will pay the fees. So will you furnish a nominee for me, for everything?
Yes, I could probably find you a rock-solid nominee, but unless you are a millionaire, you will consider the cost to be excessive. Below is a better suggestion:
If you have a good friend in another country, invite him or her to come and visit you, all expenses paid. Your friend can then open an account, sign checks, have a rubber stamp of the signature made, and fly back home.
Or, check with your friends. One of them may have a trustworthy friend or relative in another country. If that person has never before been able to afford a visit to the United States, such an offer may be irresistible!
*NOTE REGARDING BANK CHECKS
Ideally, the imprinted checks should carry only two initials and no address. The bank’s “free” checks will not allow this, but you may be able to order such checks from independent check printers such as CheckWorks.com or ChecksUnlimited.com.
However, I suggest you call a representative and ask for a form you can use to mail in your order, paying with a temporary check from the new bank account, because the online forms usually require a full address and a credit card.