Since the Panama Papers were posted online, at least 36 Americans previously accused or convicted of wrongdoing have been identified as allegedly using fraudulent offshore accounts. The figure represents almost 20 percent of approximately 200 Americans listed in the papers.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which spent more than a year combing through the documents leaked from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, made the statement after posting some of the papers online on Monday. The searchable database includes the names of 360,000 people and companies including who established offshore funds in 21 jurisdictions.
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The organization is careful to clarify that the offshoring of assets isn’t necessarily illegal. “There are legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts,” states a disclaimer that viewers are intended to sign off on. “We do not intend to suggest or imply that any persons, companies or other entities included in the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly.”
“Many people and entities have the same or similar names,” the disclaimer adds. “We suggest you confirm the identities of any individuals or entities located in the database based on addresses or other identifiable information.”
Yet many allegedly did act improperly, and several of those are familiar faces. They include Leonard Gotshalk, a former offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons and later businessman, who was sued in 1994 by the Securities and Exchange Commission for providing investors with “false and misleading information.” He was also sentenced in 2004 to 20 months in prison on a charge of theft.
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They additionally implicate Robert Miracle, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison for running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of more than $175 million. Others include Mary Patten, a Florida woman who was charged with running a $6 million investment fraud, and Rebel Holiday, a Virginia woman who was fined $110,000 and banned from selling securities in her state.
The Department of Justice opened an investigation into the papers shortly after they leaked, though officials did not become privy to their contents until this week.
