Archive

April 26, 2019

A permanent injunction has been issued barring Michael L. Meyer from in any way marketing the "Ultimate Tax Plan," also referred to as Charitable LLC or Charitable Limited Partnership, or otherwise preparing federal tax returns or advising taxpayers on charitable contributions.  Meyer had sold his bogus tax scheme with claims that taxpayers could reduce taxes by purportedly transferring property to an entity and purportedly donating their interest in the entity to a charity, while retaining complete control over the assets.  Meyer appraised the “donations,” prepared tax forms for participants to claim unwarranted deductions, and controlled the charities used to perpetuate the scheme.  The government alleged that the scheme deprived the U.S. of at least $35 million in tax revenue.  DOJ

April 25, 2019

Zurich Life Insurance Company Ltd and Zurich International Life Limited have entered into a non-prosecution agreement and agreed to a penalty of $5.115 million to resolve allegations that it knew some of its U.S. taxpayer customers were using certain Zurich policies in order to evade U.S. taxes and reporting requirements.  Under applicable law, the increase of the principal in the policies was subject to U.S. taxation, and the policies were required to be disclosed to the IRS, but Zurich knew or should have known that the policies were undeclared.   Zurich reported its finding of these accounts to the government as part of the DOJ Swiss Bank Program.  DOJ

April 4, 2019

Kenneth C. Coleman of Houston, Texas, who owned Acacia Pharma Distributors, Inc. and Four Corners Suppliers, Inc., has been sentenced to 30 years in prison following his conviction at trial for money laundering, tax evasion, and related charges.  Coleman and his companies purchased second-hand prescription medications from various illegitimate sources and sold them to a third party, Green Valley Medical Distributors, LLC, which then sold the medications to pharmacies as if they were brand new.  In arranging the sales, Coleman created fraudulent documents that misrepresented the sources of the medications and their prior sales.  After being paid by Green Valley, Coleman and others would pay the suppliers of the drugs, often in cash, and failed to report income or file corporate income taxes.  Coleman was also ordered to forfeit $20.3 million and pay $717,000 in restitution to the IRS.  DOJ

March 26, 2019

The owner and managing member of a Mississippi-based pharmacy has plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and tax evasion in connection with a massive $200 million compounding pharmacy scheme involving at least 12 individuals over four years. Glenn Doyle Beach, Jr. of Advantage Pharmacy admitted to marketing and formulating compounded medications for TRICARE patients without regard to medical necessity, falsifying paperwork to mislead auditors, and engaging in money laundering and tax evasion to conceal proceeds. He is scheduled to be sentenced in July. DOJ; USAO SDMS

March 22, 2019

A man in Colorado plead guilty to his role in a $7.2 million tax credit fraud scheme that ran from 2010 to 2013. To take advantage of a federal program that encourages the production and use of renewable fuels, Matthew Taylor and co-conspirators created a fake fuel production company, Shintan Inc., and filed false claims for tax credits with the IRS, even though their company produced no qualifying fuels. Altogether, their scheme netted them a total of $7.2 million, with $4.5 million going to Taylor. DOJ

March 12, 2019

Israeli-based Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, United Mizrahi Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. and Mizrahi Tefahot Trust Company Ltd., entered into a deferred prosecution agreement resolving claims that the bank engaged in conduct to conceal client funds for the purpose of evading U.S. income taxes.  Among other actions, the bank enabled U.S. customer-taxpayers to maintain accounts using pseudonyms, code names, and foreign nominee entities, accepted non-U.S. forms of identification from known U.S. customers, and held mail for U.S. customers offshore.  In addition, the bank violated its Qualified Intermediary Agreement with the IRS.  The agreement requires the bank to pay $195 million, cooperate in ongoing investigations, and implement specific compliance and monitoring procedures.  DOJ

March 1, 2019

The owner of a mental health clinic in North Carolina was sentenced to 5 years in prison for submitting about $4 million in false claims and evading almost $400,000 in unpaid taxes over the course of four years. Using patient information provided to her by co-defendant Haydn Thomas, who was employed as an office manager for an oral surgeon, Catinia Denise Farrington of Durham County Mental Health and Behavioral Health Services, LLC allegedly submitted thousands of false claims to Medicaid for services that were not performed. In addition to her prison sentence, Farrington has been ordered to pay restitution of about $4 million to NC Fund for Medical Assistance and almost $400,000 to the IRS for paying personal expenses out of business accounts into which she has transferred her fraudulently obtained gains. Her co-defendant faces sentencing later this month. DOJ; USAO MDNC

February 14, 2019

Adam Van Pelt of Houston, Texas, who owned Stat Source, Inc., has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $20 million for failing to pay over more than $20 million in employment taxes to the IRS over the course of 18 quarters between 2011 and 2015.  USAO SD TX

February 1, 2019

Brian Gimelson of New Jersey was sentenced to 18 months in prison for tax evasion, after pleading guilty for concealing $1.2 million in income he received as fees for the sale of a painting purportedly by the Italian Renaissance painter Caravaggio.  Gimelson directed the fee income to a company he created in his wife's name, and further directed his wife to make cash withdrawals from the account.  DOJ

February 1, 2019

Ali Jama, co-owner of Alpha Star Health Care Inc., was sentenced to 18 months in prison for health care fraud and tax fraud schemes against Medicare and Medicaid. Jama billed the government for services performed by unqualified individuals with criminal backgrounds who were prohibited from providing direct care. Jama also billed for services provided by untrained home health aides and provided false documents and false records for his taxes to reduce his company’s tax liability from approximately $680,000 to $81,000. Jama has been ordered to forfeit $300,000 and pay $392,000 in restitution to Medicaid. He must also pay the IRS $311,000 in restitution. DOJ