Marc Harris
| Marc Harris | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1965 (age 51–52) |
| Nationality | Panamanian |
| Occupation | Accountant |
| Known for | Tax fraud |
Marc Matthew Harris (born c. 1965) is a Panamanian accountant who was formerly active in the field of offshore financial services. At one time he claimed that his firm, The Harris Organisation, had funds under management of $1 billion and $35 million in capital but the organisation collapsed after being exposed as fraudulent in OffshoreAlert in 1998. In 2004, Harris was convicted in the United States on charges of money laundering and tax evasion.
Harris was born around 1965. His father was Baum Harris and his mother was Marianna Adler. He graduated from North Carolina Wesleyan College aged 18 and received an MBA from Columbia University in 1985. He qualified as a certified public accountant in the United States but quickly left the Florida firm he joined. He started his own firm in Miami with a $5,000 advance on his credit card in December 1985 but his license was suspended by the Florida authorities in December 1990 for various "violations".
With Jerome Schneider, Harris set up banks in Montserrat that included, among others, the Allied Reserve Bank, Fidelity Overseas Bank, and First City Bank, but these were all closed down by the Montserrat authorities around 1988.
In 1989 or 1990, Harris left the United States as a result of what he called U.S. Internal Revenue Service "persecution". He settled in Panama, renounced his U.S. citizenship, and became a Panamanian citizen. In order to operate in the offshore trust market, Harris bought the Trust Services firm from Robin Bailey and Derek Sambrook in 1995 but the two bought the firm back after becoming disillusioned with Harris's business practices.
He traded as The Harris Organisation and marketed his services online through the marc-harris.com and escapeartist.com websites, offering services such as second passports, offshore trusts, company formation, investments, asset protection and ancillary services. The firm used a Panama postal address but was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. In 1998, Harris claimed that his firm had funds under management of $1 billion and $35 million in capital.
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