Michael R. Mastro (born June 1, 1925)[1] is an American real estate developer, who was in business for forty years managing apartments and mid-size office parks in Seattle.
Mastro and his wife, Linda, a former Bellevue grade school teacher,[3] fled to France in 2011 after a warrant was issued for their arrest due to their failure to comply with a judge’s order that they turn over two diamond rings valued at $1.4 million to their creditors.
[1][4] They were arrested in 2012 in Lake Annecy, in the French Alps, and faced extradition hearings, after which it was revealed that the prior August, the U.S. Attorney’s Office had filed an initially sealed criminal complaint charging them with bankruptcy fraud.
[1][5][6] The day after being arrested in France, the Mastros were indicted by an American federal grand jury on forty-three counts of bankruptcy fraud and money laundering.
[9] Prior to the bankruptcy, the Mastros moved many of their assets, including a $15 million home in Medina, Washington, into an irrevocable trust based in Belize.
He was involved in hard money loans, mostly to desperate real estate developers, with second or third deeds of trust on projects as collateral.
[18] In May 2010, a ruling was handed down by bankruptcy judge Samuel Steiner that two diamond rings valued at $1.4 million were not available to creditors since they belonged to Linda Mastro.
[24] On October 25, 2012, one day after being arrested in France, the Mastros were indicted by a federal grand jury on forty-three counts of bankruptcy fraud and money laundering.
[27] A panel of three French judges rejected the couple's plea, based on their age and poor health, for a conditional release.
[29] On December 12, 2012, the Seattle Times reported that Michael and Linda Mastro had been released from jail after being incarcerated for seven weeks.
[30] On February 23, 2013, the Seattle Times reported that the Court of Appeals in Chambery, France, had ruled that the Mastros could not be extradited to the United States unless American authorities guaranteed that the couple would not face any sanctions other than electronic surveillance.
[36] Tom Hazelrigg is a long-time business associate of Michael Mastro who was forced into bankruptcy by James Rigby and two other creditors in February 2012.