June 29, 10

NEWS / Cincinnati Area Man Pleads Guilty to Aegis-Related Tax Crimes

WASHINGTON – Homer Richardson of Loveland, Ohio, pleaded guilty in federal district court in Cincinnati to corruptly impeding the due administration of the Internal Revenue Code, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. Richardson also pleaded guilty to four counts of filing false tax returns for himself and others.

According to court documents, Richardson marketed and promoted sham trusts for the now-defunct Aegis Company. Taxpayers who used these trusts filed false federal individual income tax returns understating their income. Richardson also assisted these taxpayers by obstructing their IRS audits by, among other ways, sending threatening letters to IRS employees and instructing members not to produce records as requested by the IRS. Richardson also filed his own false tax returns which falsely understated his income.

Richardson faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine. Judge Sandra S. Beckwith, who is presiding over the matter, did not schedule a sentencing date.

John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division; Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Jose Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, announced the pleas. The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Tax Division trial attorneys Tom Voracek and Rita Calvin.

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/June/10-tax-757.html

Tags: criminal investigation, document,