Report Questionable Asset Protection Planning

The asset protection industry does a great deal of good - but like any field where money and fear intersect, it also attracts bad actors. Promoters oversell. Products are marketed with guarantees no structure can actually deliver. And some "planning" crosses the line from aggressive into faulty, misleading, or outright fraudulent.

The Offshore Watchdog is our effort to bring transparency to that industry. Its purpose is simple: to help warn the public about asset protection planning that does not hold up - so people can avoid paying for a false sense of security, or worse, exposing themselves to legal risk they never understood.

Legitimate asset protection is real and well-established - see what a properly structured Cook Islands Trust looks like, or our honest breakdown of whether these trusts are legitimate or a scam. The problem is the planning that isn't - and that is what this page is here to surface.

If you have seen planning that looks questionable, we want to hear about it. The review is free, it is confidential, and you do not need to be a client.

What you can report

You can report any asset protection or tax-planning arrangement that seems faulty, deceptive, or too good to be true. Common categories include:

• Domestic asset protection structures sold as bulletproof when they are not - including domestic asset protection trusts and hybrid "bridge" products marketed as offshore-strength
• Offshore asset protection trusts or entities marketed with unrealistic promises
• Income tax reduction schemes that sound like ways to make tax "disappear"
• Capital gains tax reduction products built on aggressive or invented theories
• Estate tax reduction plans that rely on secrecy rather than the law
• "Pure trusts," "constitutional trusts," or similar arrangements sold as beyond the reach of courts or the IRS - the kind the IRS catalogs as abusive trust tax evasion schemes
• Unlicensed or non-attorney promoters selling legal structures
• Anything else you believe is a scam, a misrepresentation, or simply "garbage" planning

Warning signs of questionable planning

You do not have to be sure something is a scam to report it. If a pitch shows several of the signs below, it is worth a closer look:

• Guaranteed secrecy - promises that assets or income can be permanently hidden from the IRS or creditors
• "Hide it from the IRS" framing - legitimate planning is disclosed to the IRS, not concealed from it. The IRS publishes detailed guidance on abusive trust arrangements, and participants face civil and criminal exposure
• No attorney involved - legal structures marketed and sold by promoters, not licensed attorneys
• Promises to defeat any judgment - claims that a product will stop every creditor, in every situation, guaranteed, often propped up by misrepresented case law
• Pressure and urgency - hard-sell tactics, "act now" deadlines, or steep discounts to close quickly
• Fees that seem far too low - or, conversely, large upfront fees for vague deliverables
• Timing that ignores the law - selling transfers to someone already sued, threatened, or in a dispute, with no mention of fraudulent-transfer risk

None of these is proof of wrongdoing on its own. Together, they are a reason to ask questions - and a reason to let us take a look.

How the review works

1. You submit a report using the form at the bottom of this page. Include as much detail as you can.
2. We review it. Our experienced attorneys and staff research the structure, product, or promoter involved.
3. We follow up. Someone will contact you - usually within a few business days - if we have questions or findings to share.
4. We warn the public where warranted. When a plan appears to put consumers at real risk, we may publish a general warning through the Offshore Watchdog.

The review is free, and reporting carries no obligation.

Why public reporting matters

Consumers almost always encounter a questionable pitch first - long before any advisor or attorney hears about it. By the time a bad structure surfaces in a courtroom, the damage is usually done.

Early, public reporting changes that. When one person flags a misleading pitch, it can prevent that same pitch from reaching the next hundred people. That is the entire point of a watchdog: to move information from the few who have seen the problem to the many who have not.

Reporting to us is one channel. You can - and should - also report fraud to the authorities: the Federal Trade Commission takes reports at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and its guide to spotting scams is a useful primer on the tactics described above. For published investigations into specific promoters and firms, see The Offshore Watchdog.

Report questionable planning

Use the form below to submit a report. Tell us what you saw, who was promoting it, and what felt wrong. If you would rather speak with someone directly, you can also request a confidential consultation.

Submitting a report does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not legal advice. We review submissions to inform the public and cannot guarantee any specific outcome.