Sukamto Sia hid assets, suit says

Advertiser Staff

The trustee for the bankrupt estate of Sukamto Sia has sued the jailed financier, his brother Sumitro, and Sia's Honolulu attorney, Renton Nip, alleging the trio conspired to hide assets from creditors.

The nine-count suit, which was filed in bankruptcy court on Oct. 31 by trustee Guido Giacometti, alleges that Nip and his former law firm, Verner Liipfert Bernhard McPherson & Hand, received more than $100,000 in payments from Sia for helping the financier hide millions of dollars in assets using overseas shell companies.

The suit seeks unspecified damages and the return of those payments as well as any assets controlled by Sia since 1997. A hearing is scheduled for January.

Sia is serving three years in a federal prison in Lompoc, Calif., for bankruptcy fraud. He admitted participating in a scheme to defraud the failed Bank of Honolulu.

In what was believed to be the largest personal bankruptcy in U.S. history, Sia filed for bankruptcy protection in November 1998 claiming nearly $300 million in debts and just over $9 million in assets. All his assets were supposed to be turned over to the bankruptcy estate for payment to creditors.