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Harmon Lynn Wilfred is a New Zealand-based businessman. Formerly a U.S. citizen, he emigrated to Canada and then sought asylum in New Zealand after efforts to act as a
whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
to expose alleged corruption during the resolution of the 1980s and 1990s
savings and loan crisis The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s (commonly dubbed the S&L crisis) was the failure of approximately a third of the savings and loan associations (S&Ls or thrifts) in the United States between 1986 and 1995. These thrifts were b ...
. Wilfred eventually renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2005, becoming stateless as a result.


Real estate dealings

Wilfred's first career was as a real estate developer in the
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
area. He did well during the 1980s real estate boom, but after the advent of the
savings and loan crisis The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s (commonly dubbed the S&L crisis) was the failure of approximately a third of the savings and loan associations (S&Ls or thrifts) in the United States between 1986 and 1995. These thrifts were b ...
his luck took a turn for the worse. By 1990, he had sold all but one of his properties, and the tenant in that property moved out, leaving him with no income to service the $3.2 million loan on the building. Wilfred declared personal bankruptcy, and attempted to work with the
Resolution Trust Corporation Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) was a U.S. government-owned asset management company first run by Lewis William Seidman and charged with liquidating assets, primarily real estate-related assets such as mortgage loans, that had been assets ...
to sell the building and pay off as much of the loan as possible. However, Wilfred states that the RTC wasted two years ignoring potential deals and then sold the building for $500,000, less than a third of the price Wilfred said he could have obtained for the building. The private company which eventually bought the building, immediately sold it for $1.25 million. In response, Wilfred sued RTC, and made efforts to gain
class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...
status for his suit; he alleged that RTC's wasteful practices had cost taxpayers as much as $30 billion. Wilfred also provided accounting information which led to a criminal investigation of the El Paso County Retirement Fund in 1994. The District Attorney's office did not find sufficient evidence to merit the filing of charges, but did not comment on whether or not they had discovered financial mismanagement.


Emigration and renunciation of citizenship

Wilfred moved to Canada in the late 1990s, but was removed to the United States in 2000, in what he contends was an illegal extradition. He then moved to New Zealand in 2001 with his Canadian wife Caroline Dare-Wilfred. He went on to renounce U.S. citizenship in 2005, becoming stateless in the process; the U.S. is one of the few countries which allows its citizens abroad to renounce citizenship without having acquired the citizenship of any other country. Immigration New Zealand reportedly looked into deporting Wilfred, but he applied for New Zealand citizenship, and argued that deporting him to the United States would be inhumane. In 2008, he filed a complaint with the
United Nations Human Rights Committee The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per yea ...
regarding alleged violations of his rights under the
International Convention on Civil and Political Rights International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...
by Canada and the United States in relation to his 2000 extradition. However, the Committee could not act on his complaint: the United States was not a signatory to that Convention's First Optional Protocol, which recognises the competence of the ICCPR's individual complaint mechanism, and the Committee ruled that Wilfred had not provided sufficient evidence to prove his claims against Canada.


Activities in New Zealand


Charitable work

In New Zealand, Wilfred became involved in charitable work, providing vocational services for people with disabilities. He was elected chairman of Floyds Creative Arts Charitable Trust, later renamed La Famia Creative Arts; he also set up a number of other charities under the La Famia name. Wilfred and his wife also provided financial backing to the Champion Centre, an organisation for young children with special needs. Wilfred's charities suffered funding issues as well as disputes with staff. To address funding issues, Wilfred looked into pursuing private business ventures through a charitable trust model, using investment proceeds to fund La Famia's continued operations. As part of this activity, he pressured one of the companies in which he invested, Prenzel Distilling Company, to sell off its award-winning gin and vodka brands. Wilfred stated, "Anytime you're looking at hard liquor and then looking at family values there is going to be a conflict". Wilfred also use to run a radio show called Radio La Famia.


Visa difficulties

According to an April 2013 report by ''
The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...
'', Wilfred's visa to remain in New Zealand expired in 2004, and he has since been out-of-status.Alt URL
/ref> David Carter and Christchurch MP Nicky Wagner, both of the
New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party (), often shortened to National () or the Nats, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand that is the current senior ruling party. It is one ...
, were impressed with his charitable work and business investments, and wrote letters of reference for him in support of his visa applications to remain in New Zealand. In November 2011, Associate Immigration Minister Kate Wilkinson appeared as a guest on his show, sparking political controversy because of media allegations that Wilfred had overstayed his visa. News coverage about Wilfred such as this resulted in a complaint to the New Zealand Press Council by Wilfred's friend and business partner Hugh Steadman; however, the Press Council did not agree with Steadman that the coverage amounted to a "campaign of vilification and harassment". In April 2013, after Wilfred's trading company La Famia No. 2 Ltd was put into
liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a Company (law), company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as :wikt:wind up#Noun, w ...
,
Winston Peters Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He has led the political party New Zealand First since he founded it in 1993, and since November 2023 has served as the 25th Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), ...
of
New Zealand First New Zealand First (), commonly abbreviated to NZ First or NZF, is a political party in New Zealand, founded and led by Winston Peters, who has served three times as Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, deputy prime minister. The party has form ...
called for his deportation, citing allegations that he owed nearly NZ$300,000 to the Inland Revenue Department in unpaid GST and PAYE payments. Immigration New Zealand served a deportation order on Wilfred in 2011, but was unable to effect deportation due to the lack of a country to which he could be deported. In July 2013, INZ spokesman Dean Blakemore stated that his department had been discussing Wilfred's situation with U.S. authorities with a view to facilitating his removal from New Zealand, but that Wilfred's "position as a stateless individual is an impediment to him being allowed entry into the US". In August 2013, the New Zealand Office of the Ombudsman began an investigation into the
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment ( MBIE; ) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with "delivering policy, services, advice and regulation" which contribute to New Zealand's economic productivity and business ...
, the ministry which oversees INZ, regarding its refusal to refer Wilfred's application for New Zealand citizenship to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Two immigration lawyers expressed consternation at the Ombudsman's investigation, and suggested that INZ's inability to deport people who become stateless after renouncing foreign citizenships or to block their applications for New Zealand citizenship was a "loophole" presenting problems for enforcement actions against people lacking legal immigration status. In response to the news, immigration compliance officer Natalie Gardiner stated that INZ's position was that Wilfred "should leave the country as soon as possible." By March 2014, Gardiner stated that INZ remained unable to reach an agreement for the United States Embassy to issue a
travel document A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the beare ...
to Wilfred, so he could be deported to the United States, despite the request of INZ Minister Michael Woodhouse that the U.S. government reconsider its position on the issue. His wife Caroline flew to Canada in September 2015 and subsequently had her New Zealand visa waiver revoked, effectively denying her re-entry to the country. Her application for a New Zealand investor visa was also turned down. In 2018, due to ongoing U.S. refusal to cooperate in Wilfred's deportation, Immigration New Zealand withdrew the deportation order against him, but his wife remained unable to return to New Zealand.


Personal life

Wilfred has been married three times, most recently to Caroline Dare-Wilfred of Canada, whose family runs the Dare Foods Group of
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. Dare-Wilfred's marriage to him created tensions with her relatives, which eventually led her to attempt to sell her 27% stake in the Dare Foods Group. He has three children in the U.S. from his previous two marriages.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilfred, Harmon Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American emigrants to New Zealand Businesspeople from Denver Former United States citizens Stateless people