福克斯主播被曝用20多家空壳公司买房

福克斯新闻的当家主播肖恩·哈尼迪这周过得很不轻松。

上周一，美国总统特朗普的私人代理律师迈尔克·科恩表示，哈尼迪曾经是他的三个客户之一。科恩由于涉嫌曾在大选期间替特朗普掏钱摆平成人AV女星斯托米·丹尼尔斯的纠缠而正在受到调查。哈尼迪否认了自己曾聘请过科恩作律师，不过这并不能阻止人们关注他的几笔金融交易。而且事实证明，他的这些交易远比之前所知的更广泛和复杂。以下是我们目前掌握的信息：

1.哈尼迪与至少20家空壳公司有关

根据《卫报》看到的文件，哈尼迪曾通过20多家注册在乔治亚州的空壳公司购买过房地产。空壳公司是用来持有资产的一种方法，可以帮助受益人保持匿名。虽然空壳公司本身并不违法，但也经常有人用它从事逃税等违法行为。虽然目前并无迹象表明哈尼迪从事任何不法行为，但他毕竟作为“影子买主”匿名购买了大量房产。貌似他这样做是为了限制他在这些房地产交易中的债务。过去10年间，这些空壳公司共斥资9000万美元，在美国的7个州收购了870套住宅。

2.购买了银行的没收房产

虽然哈尼迪曾在电视上大肆批评奥巴马将美国的没收质押房产率定得过高，但他显然是大萧条之后大量质押房产被没收的受益者。2013年，他以折扣价购买了一些被没收的质押房产。据《卫报》报道，他以这种方式抄底的房产至少有几十套。

3.用住房和城市发展部的贷款买房

据称，哈尼迪用美国住房和城市发展部（HUD）提供的按揭贷款购买了两处最有价值的房产。而且这笔1790万美元的贷款还是在奥巴马时代拿到的。在特朗普时代，本·卡森领导下的HUD又将这笔贷款提高了500万美元。但去年哈尼迪在电视上采访时本·卡森时，并没有披露他与HUD之间的交易。他只是对卡森说，他“做得很不错”。

4.把自己的理财经理包装成专家上电视

哈尼迪的空壳公司都是在汉斯勒理财公司旗下注册的，该公司的一位名叫比尔·拉可的负责人也曾上过哈尼迪的广播节目，并曾在该节目的官网上发表过文章。虽然节目中也披露了两人的生意关系，但最近拉可在该节目官网上发表的一篇软文却没有附上类似的免责声明。

哈尼迪在一封电子邮件声明中告诉《财富》：“我把个人资金投资到了急需此类投资的社区，却因此遭到攻击，实在很讽刺。我相信，那些攻击我的人肯定没有投钱到需要他们的社区上。”他还补充道：“我并没有单独选择或控制这些投资，也不清楚这些投资的细节。”

哈尼迪还在声明中称：“我从未与住房和城市发展部的任何人谈过奥巴马时代获得的贷款问题，也没有跟他们谈过贷款后续融资的问题，因为它们是私人问题。对于HUD与任何此类投资的关系，我既没有参与，也没有任何责任。”（财富中文网）

编者注：此文因哈尼迪的声明而有更新。

译者：朴成奎

Fox News anchor Sean Hannity had a bad week.

Last Monday, a lawyer representing Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, said that Hannity was one of Cohen’s three clients. Cohen is under investigation in relation to a payment he reportedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels on behalf of then-candidate Trump. Hannity denied (kind of) that he’d retained Cohen’s services, but that hasn’t stopped people from taking a closer look at his financial dealings, which have proven to be more extensive and complicated than previously known. Here’s what we know so far.

1. He is linked to at least 20 shell companies

According to documents reviewed by The Guardian, Hannity bought real estate through more than 20 shell companies registered in Georgia. A shell company is a vehicle used to hold assets and can help beneficiaries remain anonymous. They are not in themselves illegal, though they are sometimes used to conduct illegal activities such as tax evasion. There is no indication that Hannity is engaged in any illegal practices, but he is the hidden owner behind at least some of the 20 companies through which he has bought property. In his case, it appears the shell companies were used to limit his liabilities in the real estate deals in question. In the last 10 years, the companies have spent $90 million on 870 homes in seven U.S. states.

2. He bought foreclosed properties

Despite his criticism of President Obama over the U.S. foreclosure rate, Hannity was an apparent beneficiary of the high number of foreclosures that accompanied and followed the great recession. In 2013 he purchased homes at a discount after their previous owners lost them to foreclosure. The Guardian reports he bought dozens of homes this way.

3. He used HUD programs

Hannity used mortgages funded through the Department for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to buy two of the most valuable properties in his portfolio. The $17.9 million in loans was first guaranteed under the Obama administration. Ben Carson’s HUD recently increased the loans by $5 million. Hannity failed to disclose his dealings with HUD when he had Ben Carson on his show last year. During that appearance, Hannity told Carson he’d “done a good job.”

4. He uses his financial manager as an expert on his show

Hannity’s shell companies are registered at Henssler Financial. A principal at the firm, Bill Lako, has appeared on Hannity’s radio show and has written for the show’s website. Though the fact that the two men do business together was disclosed on air, a recent op-ed penned by Lako and published on the Hannity show’s website had no such disclaimer.

In an email statement, Hannity tells Fortune, “It is ironic that I am being attacked for investing my personal money in communities that badly need such investment and in which, I am sure, those attacking me have not invested their money.” He adds that he “did not individually select, control, or know the details about” the investments.

“I have never discussed with anybody at HUD the original loans that were obtained in the Obama years, nor the subsequent refinance of such loans, as they are a private matter,” reads the statement. “I had no role in, or responsibility for, any HUD involvement in any of these investments.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Hannity.