John and Sally have recently been experiencing serious marital problems. They are seeing a counselor in order to “save their marriage.” During the past several months, John has been selling their recreational assets including an expensive boat, snowmobiles, four-wheelers, and a cabin in the beautiful Smoky Mountains. John has been selling all these toys to his friend Sam for extremely low prices. Sally believes his story that he is selling them because they are hard up for money and that he is putting the money into their savings account. However, she does not know who has been purchasing the assets. She is shocked during the divorce to find out that there is very little money in the savings account. Where had it all gone? She had never paid much attention to the finances and had trusted John completely.
1. In what kind of scheme are John and Sam involved?
2. How could Sally verify that the assets were actually sold?
3. What are some possible motivations for John to sell the recreational assets at extremely low prices?