Blind Item #7
This channel specializes in Christmas movies. There is a town where they shoot a great number of those movies. That town is basically owned by two people regardless of what the name on the front of those mom and pop stores says. It is one of the biggest money laundering cities in the world. It is also one of the reasons they are so welcoming to movie people. It is a way for them to look legit. The channel loves it because the town charges no fees and has no red tape.
Hallmark-one town Chester ,VT?
ReplyDeleteOr maybe the towns in Utah they shoot-Mapleton and Pioneer Village?
ReplyDeleteThey film a lot of those in UTAH.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe it would be in VT.
Yes Tricia - was typing as you posted that. Utah fits in with a LOT of blinds as of late involving big time money. Makes complete sense.
ReplyDeleteWho knew??!!🙃
DeleteI like the Pioneer Village guess Google it.
ReplyDeleteAccording to IMDB, a lot of Hallmark films have been shot in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada.
ReplyDeleteHow exactly does money laundering work in a small town? If those mom and pop shops start to show abnormally high revenues you bet they will be investigated by the taxman. Of course the town welcomes movie crews because they bring money and paying customers. And I don't see one person owning most of the businesses in a small town as sinister. Michael Stipe owns (or owned) a lot of businesses in Athens GA and it was because he liked the place and had the money. Not everything is a conspiracy theory folks
ReplyDeleteIf one group owns all, or many, of the businesses they can spread cash among them all and disguise it as expenditures for those businesses. With enough businesses who's going to notice slightly higher revenues for each and if movie production is happening, it is even easier for them to hide additional monies.
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ReplyDeleteAbbotsford might be too big for this story (population 141,397), but a lot of them have also used Langley, British Columbia, Canada (population 25,888), probably a better fit.
ReplyDeleteI live right next door to abbotsford. Weird to see it written here. Cool!
DeleteHey I’m right below you across the border 👋🏽❤️
DeleteWeird to Langley as the possible location too!
Can't be Salt Lake City, population is in the 200K I believe.
ReplyDelete@Matt, you may be right.
ReplyDeleteAll the HALLMARK Countdown to Christmas 2017 Movies Filmed in Vancouver / Langley areas:
Miss Christmas
The Sweetest Christmas
Coming Home For Christmas
A Gift to Remember
With Love, Christmas
The Mistletoe Inn
Finding Santa
The Christmas Train
Christmas in Evergreen
Christmas at Holly Lodge
Christmas Getaway
When Calls the Heart: The Christmas Wishing Tree
A Royal New Year’s Eve
For the 2017 Christmas season, 15 of the 21 Hallmark movies were filmed in the Vancouver/Langley/Revelstoke area.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.imdb.com/search/title?locations=Langley,%20British%20Columbia,%20Canada&page=1&view=advanced&ref_=adv_prv
ReplyDeleteIMDB lists 282 titles filmed in Langley. Someone could do a total tally, but just in the first page of 50 titles I count 16 Hallmark movies.
Now the question is, what type of operation are they laundering $ for? Is it tied to any of the trafficking?
ReplyDeleteHh314, money laundering by design would involve cash,which is not going to show up as increased revenue. They own multiple businesses, especially food and services that costs can be hidden in. The movie businesses coming in provide cover if anyone questions the money coming in,they quickly look away.
ReplyDeleteThis blog has been occupied by The Professionals.
ReplyDeleteMartial law has been imposed.
Civil liberties have been suspended.
Habeus corpus has been overruled.
The brothels are operational.
You cannot win.
You can only admit.
You can only submit.
I live in a small town where a mattress store was used to cover a cocaine operation. It was next door to the DMV, cops were there everyday. Nothing happened until people complained that the mattresses weren't being delivered!
ReplyDeleteNow, who are the two people that own the town and from where are they getting their money?
ReplyDeleteLifetime, obvs. Town is Aspen?
ReplyDeleteMoney laundering - overcharge for services and labour, kick back to politicians and launderees
ReplyDeletehttps://www.langleyadvance.com/news/b-c-casinos-must-declare-cash-deposits-in-new-rules-over-money-laundering/
ReplyDeleteIt's in British Columbia province in Canada, where there is zero enforcement of money laundering laws. I know because I live here. Vancouver and the immediate suburbs seem a little big for "two people own everything" so this blind refers to a smaller town. There are several possibilities.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to Beyond EMF's list, there was Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever, shot in Coquitlam (too large and close to Vancouver for the "two people own everything").
And then there's Lionsgate Films ...
Maple Ridge, BC came to mind immediately. It seems like there is a Christmas movie filmed there every week throughout the year. I know this not from IMDB, but from actually seeing these movies being filmed there on a very regular basis. The town is in a constant state of Christmas.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I refuse to believe that this blind is about any of the Vancouver suburbs even though Vancouver truly is the capital of Christmas movies. There are no two people who own "everything" in any of these suburbs. Yes, Abbotsford, Langley, Maple Ridge, and Coquitlam are all suburbs of Vancouver.
I live in Abbotsford, but I have no idea who the two people would be. Everything is controlled by the gangs and the churches.
ReplyDeleteHmm I am still not convinced about the money laundering rationale. People who engage in that usually have vast sums of cash that need to be legitimized (such as gains from drug trade, prostitution etc) that need to come on the balance sheets, hence the revenues part. Basically mystery cash must show as a profit on a business in order to look legit. It just strains my imagination that they would use small stores, because it would take forever to launder lets say 100K through a small store. Art is a much better way to hide money, not that I would know personally
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/langley-film-friction-1.4365553
ReplyDelete"The Township of Langley touts itself as "one of the most film friendly municipalities in B.C.'s Lower Mainland," but becoming a hit with the film industry has also produced a new drama: conflict between those who want film shoots and those who don't.
As the number of film productions in B.C. rises, opposition has also grown. Proponents say these productions bring cash to municipalities. The film industry invested $35 million in the Township of Langley's local economy last year.
In 2016, there were 136 film and TV productions filmed in the township, spanning 1,000 film days. That means an average of three shoots every day, 365 days a year.
Beyond the township, film production in B.C.has exploded. New numbers released by the province show an estimated $2.6 billion was spent on production in the province in the fiscal year 2016-17, a 35 per cent increase over the previous fiscal year."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mounties-accuse-4-of-money-laundering-in-langley-1.750405
ReplyDelete(2008) "RCMP raided two currency exchange businesses in Langley, B.C., on Monday and arrested four men suspected of laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Police seized two vehicles and suitcases full of cash, allegedly tied to the money-laundering operation, Thiessen said.
"It has to do with the money laundering of what we are alleging is directly linked to a significant level of organized crime," he said."
https://www.langleytimes.com/news/nine-arrested-in-b-c-in-gambling-and-money-laundering-scheme/
(2017) "Nine people have been arrested in the Lower Mainland following a year-long investigation into illegal gaming houses and money laundering in B.C.
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit searched six homes and seized large amounts of cash, bank drafts, drug paraphernalia, suitcases, cell phones and luxury vehicles – one with a hidden compartment.
Investigators say the organization allegedly operating illegal gaming houses was also facilitating money laundering for drug traffickers, loan sharking, kidnappings, and extortions. The agency found links throughout Canada and internationally, including in mainland China."
" People who engage in that usually have vast sums of cash that need to be legitimized"
ReplyDeleteOr people who engage in money laundering are doing it for people with vast amounts of cash.
"Basically mystery cash must show as a profit on a business in order to look legit"
No, mystery cash has to flow out due to invented expenditures. There are numerous ways to do this - fake staff who are paid in cash, fake tip outs in restaurants, fake receipts for fake purchases. The payment is fake but it makes illegal cash legit. Construction companies, strip clubs, restaurants and churches are famous sources of money laundering because of they all have a cash aspect. That's about all I know on the subject though.
Its natural to think that the money laundering is the big evil in this blind, but canI remind you these people are making CHRISTMAS TV MOVIES!!!
ReplyDeleteWake up to the true evil!
Well illegal gambling and previously currency exchange sound like great ways to launder money. Not mom and pop shops though.
ReplyDeleteLOL about the greater evil. I like Christmas movies, they are perfectly sappy and put me in a festive mood
ReplyDeleteVancouver area has seen a HUGE amount of Chinese money laundering through the all cash purchase of high value real estate. Real estate is the new way to launder large sums of cash...
ReplyDeleteThat would explain why Hallmark movies are... well, the way they are.
ReplyDeleteThere's a town in Georgia that is Christmas 365/24/7. Constantly. No let up. Don't know the name.
ReplyDeleteSounds like hell.
Real life ozarks. Cool.
ReplyDeleteThis is not in the Canadian town many of you mentioned above but somewhere else in Canada. Can't say too much but there is so much more to this blind!
ReplyDelete