Investment

» hairie13 - Wade Cook faces charges

Wade Cook faces charges

Thursday, January 5, 2006

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A court hearing for asset-protection guru Wade B. Cook and his wife, who face charges of tax fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice, was delayed for two weeks Thursday to give the couple time to straighten out their legal representation.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler rescheduled the arraignment for Jan. 19. She said the Cooks should provide financial affidavits if they hope to be appointed public defenders.

Cook, 56, has conducted hundreds of seminars on asset protection, stock market investing, real estate acquisition and avoidance of income tax. He and his wife Laura Cook, 52, who live about 25 miles east of Seattle near Fall City, were charged last month with concealing nearly $8.9 million in royalties from 1998 to 2000.

Theiler allowed the Cooks' release on personal recognizance, but limited travel to within Western Washington. The couple had a Mexican cruise planned for next month, during which Wade Cook was to speak about his new health program, but the judge said she was concerned about the possibility of his fleecing people on the ship. She indicated they almost certainly would not be allowed to take the cruise.

After the hearing, Wade Cook declined to comment on his new health program. Instead, he pointed at federal prosecutor Bob Westinghouse and said, "That's the man you should be investigating, right there."
"Ah, we don't have any comment," attorney Robert Gombiner, who represented Cook at Thursday's hearing, quickly interrupted.

Cook, a former cab driver, shut down his operations in February 2003, a month after his Tukwila-based company went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Creditors alleged that the company had made dubious loans to executives and failed to pay for employees' health-insurance coverage despite collecting premiums.

-- posted by hairie13

» hairie13 - Wade & Laura Plead Not Guilty

Date: January 19, 2006

This morning in U.S. Federal Court in Seattle, Wade and Laura Cook separately plead not-guilty to all charges against them.

The trial scheduled to start on March 17, 2006 and will take 6 weeks or more.

The public defender representing Wade Cook, argued that the Fifth Amendment ( No person may be compelled to testify against himself ) could apply to the requirement that Wade Cook provide a Financial Affidavit, because he claims he can't afford an Attorney.

The public defender stated those documents could later be used against Cook.

Pretrial motions are scheduled for February 9, 2006.

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-- posted by hairie13

» hairie13 - Re: Wade & Laura Plead Not Guilty

Author: rasputin
Date: January 19, 2006
In response to Wade & Laura Plead Not Guilty posted by hairie31:

Ha! Sounds like he's trying to have it both ways. What a con-artist.

He's probably afraid of being caught perjuring himself in his claims of poverty.

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-- posted by hairie13

» hairie13 - Grand Jury Indictment

Date: February 24, 2006
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

Wade, Laura Cook deny tax charges
Friday, February 24, 2006

By DAN RICHMAN
P-I REPORTER

Self-styled financial guru Wade Cook and his wife, Laura, on Thursday pleaded not guilty -- for the second time -- to charges they withheld federal income tax on $8.9 million worth of earnings.

The Cooks first entered not-guilty pleas in January. However, those responses were made to charges that hadn't been handed down by a grand jury and so might have been insufficient to proceed to trial, said Wade Cook's attorney, Angelo Calfo, of Yarmouth Wilsdon Calfo.

The federal government Thursday read the Cooks essentially the same charges -- but this time from an indictment, handed down by a grand jury -- and the couple repeated their not-guilty pleas.

They are charged with conspiring to defraud the government; falsifying income tax returns in 1998, 1999 and 2000; evading taxes in those three years; and obstructing justice.

If convicted, they each face a theoretical maximum of 45 years in prison and a $2 million fine, though sentences are often served concurrently and fines aren't usually imposed at the top of their range.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly is scheduled to set a trial date March 3.

Laura Cook is represented by Amanda Lee, of Schroeter Goldmark & Bender.

-- posted by hairie13

» hairie13 - Trial Date Set

Trial Date Set

Date: March 3, 2006

Tax-evasion trial date set for financial gurus

A federal judge in Seattle has set Jan. 15, 2007, as the trial date for self-styled financial guru Wade Cook and his wife, Laura, of Fall City.

The Cooks pleaded not guilty last month to charges that they withheld federal income taxes on $8.9 million in earnings in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly also asked attorneys representing the couple and the federal government to work out a schedule for all pretrial deadlines and present it to him during the week of April 3

-- posted by hairie13