May 24, 2017

A federal grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of New York returned an indictment charging a former Brooklyn resident, who operated a precious metals brokerage firm with tax evasion and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, announced the Justice Department’s Tax Division. According to the indictment, Christopher Wolf operated Rothchild & Associates LLC, in Brooklyn, New York, and was in the business of selling precious metals to investors over the telephone. Although Wolf controlled all aspects of Rothchild’s operations, it was technically owned by a third party. Wolf allegedly concealed the income he earned from Rothchild by causing his commissions to be paid to shell corporations and diverting the funds from those corporations to his own personal use. According to the indictment, Wolf filed a false 2010 individual income tax return that did not report the income he earned from selling precious metals and he failed to file a 2011 income tax return, despite earning brokerage commissions. The indictment further alleges that Wolf caused the shell corporations to file false 2010 and 2011 corporate tax returns that claimed deductions for phony expenses. DOJ

Tagged in: Tax Fraud,