If $200k was ‘all’ that you had from ill gotten gains, where would you go?
Is it enough for any kind of new life?
talk to me.
Jim
I think it is. If you have no dependents, live in a area with a low cost of living, live somewhat frugally and got a job working under the table, so to speak, you probably wouldn’t have to worry about money ever again.
Also, you may want to ask a mod to move your thread to IMHO. I’m interested in other Doper’s answers.
Wag?
Making plans and need help.
Help!
Help!
Please HELP!
I really need HELP!
l o l
Only if there was no choice involved. It’d take a helluvalot more to get me to voluntarily leave my old life behind. But if I had no say in the matter, then yes, I could make it work.
(For all purposes here, I am assuming that the law, up to a federal level, is looking for me and my $200,000):
Head to Vegas, spread around some dough in the underworld until I found a good connection for a new identity. Not some schmoe selling $25 fake IDs, mind you. I’m taking about laying out $5-15 grand for a legit license, birth certificate, SS#, credit report, the whole works, all with a history to them.
Factor in travel, hotel time, wheel greasing and document purchase, (we’ll say I went rather high-end), and some cosmetic surgery (wouldn’t want to take a chance that I’d be recognized should I happen to appear on America’s Most Wanted) and I should have been on the run for 3-6 weeks and have at least $170,000 to my name. With my new identity, I can begin building a new life. I wouldn’t go into the same career I was in earlier, as law enforcement may be keeping an eye out. I’ve has a run-in or two with the law in my youth, but I don’t recall ever being fingerprinted, so I wouldn’t have too many concerns about being caught that way.
So, get a mid-range job, perhaps in a computer repair shop, all the while slowly laundering the rest of my cash through gambling “winnings”. Eventually buy a home and maybe open a small business of my own. Hopefully things work out like the “almost-ending” of 25th Hour.
No. I would not disappear or even risk taking cash money for less than $1,000,000.
Close the shutters.
[Disclaimer: this is the stuff of fantasy, and does not constitute advice of any kind. Having said that, I have met people who have done similar things.]
You wouldn’t want to carry that much in cash by air. For so many reasons: crime, carelesness, customs, etc.
So you send most of it to an offshore account in the Bahamas, Isle of Man, Caymans. You take a the rest and go to south-east Asian country A. Only ever pay cash.
Make friends with an expatriate banker - may take several weeks. Eventually when you have his/her trust, mention that you need to transfer funds to country A.
During this period, you’ve done what you need to do to get a fake ID, and with that you get a fake passport from your local embassy or consulate, that doesn’t have as stringent identity requirements as at home.
Hopefully your new banking “friend” will comply with your request. Make an excuse - you want to buy a yacht or something. Withdraw all money in US$ cash this time. Strap it to your body, and do not remove for as long as required. Not even for a shower. Then leave immediately. Never look back, never contact anyone.
Then, leave country A. Travel overland to country B, hopefully a few thousand miles away from country A. With the money still strapped to you. Don’t talk to or engage anyone. Stay in brightly-lit places.
When you arrive, unstrap the cash and lock it securely away. Have a shower.
Make friends with an expatriate banker - may take several weeks. Eventually when you have his/her trust, mention that you need to lodge funds in country B. Open an account with the fake ID, and lodge the cash.
When you have a handle on the locale, buy or build a bar. Live the high life until you die, never once contacting anyone from, or referring to, your previous existing. Lonely, but practical.
General Questions is for questions with factual answers.
Off to IMHO.
DrMatrix - GQ Moderator
I wouldn’t dissapear for $200 000, but assuming that I did something stupid and had no other choice, and assumng that I don’t have much time to think about it, and to come to some well thought plan, I would possibly pick some place in eastern Europe where my money could go a long way. In Armenia, for instance.
Alternately, I could head to Chile, where a friend of mine could perhaps help me settling somewhere in Latin America, where she travels extensively. Third choice could be Morroco, where I might find some help too. But it would be too close to France and this country would have too much ties with mine for my taste if I’m wanted.
Assuming I could plan my escape more seriously I would study very closely extradition treaties and would probably end up in a place I currently never even heard the name of and where corruption is rampant (so I could get residency by bribing some official).
the ending of 25th hour was kind of what I had in mind