It’s only my third day back from vacation. Some of the individuals mentioned below will be counting the days at ClubFed very soon.
Let’s start in Stillwater, Minnesota. Randy Haugen owned an automobile repair business, and it was apparently quite successful. One of his methods of improving his bottom line was allegedly not remitting sales tax to Minnesota and not filing income tax returns. Those methods really do help the bottom line…until you’re caught. The Minnesota Department of Revenue said that Mr. Haugen, “knew this day was going to come and he dreaded it.” As a helpful hint, if you find yourself in that situation get an attorney and make a payment plan rather than postponing the inevitable discovery of the tax evasion.
Staying in the Twin Cities, a former co-owner of a roofing business is accused of conspiracy, mail fraud, tax evasion, and filing false tax returns. Amit Sela of Minnetonka, Minnesota, allegedly embezzled over $600,000 from Sela Roofing, and then allegedly filed false tax returns to cover up the theft. On the other hand, Mr. Sela’s attorney, Eric Brever, told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “We believe a jury will find Mr. Sela innocent of all the charges…[A]ll of the taxes were paid prior to the IRS criminal investigation.” That’s a big difference of opinion and we won’t know the answer until the case comes to trial.
Finally, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, we learn that two former executives of U.S. Signal, a telecommunications firm serving the Great Lakes region, are pleading guilty to tax and mail fraud charges. The two, Barry Raternik, the former president of U.S. Signal, and Tim Hall, who used to be the company’s director of operations, teamed with a supplier, Douglas Lautenbach (who also pleaded guilty) to overcharge the company for fiber optics. The three pocketed the difference and used the ill-gotten gains to fund lavish homes, sports cars, RVs, and other expensive items. They also allegedly sold other equipment on the secondary market. Instead of enjoying the luxury items they’ll likely get to spend a few years enjoying the not so luxurious insides of various ClubFed facilities.
In the end, most of these “perfect crimes” end up with the same result—the participants enjoying ClubFed and making restitution to the government. Crime just rarely pays.