Plenty of fraud to digest this week, with stories that span the globe. We even have what looks like a case that we reported on two years ago where the alleged perpetrator won’t be prosecuted after all.
Let’s start in Budapest, Hungary. Many criminals have found the former Eastern Block a safe place to call home. Apparently Dennis Hunter is one of them. Mr. Hunter faces charges of tax fraud on a massive scale: He’s alleged to have defrauded the British treasury of £250 million. The fraud relates to the Value Added Tax that exists in Europe, and allegedly took place from 2001 to 2003. Agents from Spain, Hungary, and the United Kingdom found Mr. Hunter in an Irish pub in Budapest. Mr. Hunter will soon be sent back to the United Kingdom and, if convicted, faces several years in a British jail. Mr. Hunter was one of the ten most wanted criminals in the U.K.
Thomas Carbo was sentenced this past week. We reported on Mr. Carbo back in September; he paid his employees in cash and pocketed the payroll taxes. He also skimmed income from his business. That combination wasn’t a winner, and he pleaded guilty. He received 20 months at ClubFed, a $5,000 fine, and must make restitution of $158,000.
Daniel Benham sold a plan that said that you could create legal entities to shelter your taxes. (If you do create those entities, they will owe tax.) That in itself is dubious, but there’s one born every day. Mr. Benham also decided to cheat the IRS the old fashioned way: He didn’t pay his taxes from 2000 through 2003. That got him convicted of four counts of tax evasion and one count of bankruptcy fraud. He’ll have six years at ClubFed to find a new scheme.
Finally, I reported on the case of Michael Monahan in March of 2007. Mr. Monahan is alleged to have not paid payroll taxes on his temp agency’s employees. But the case has apparently run into trouble. Mr. Monahan had pleaded guilty but has now withdrawn that plea. The case against his partner was dropped last year. It’s now unclear as to whether Mr. Monahan will be prosecuted or not. The Nashua Telegraph reports that the prosecutor had last week filed a motion to allow Mr. Monahan to change his plea and to dismiss the case against him “with prejudice” but his superiors aren’t happy with that idea. They forced the prosecutor to withdraw that motion.
Well, unless you’re about to be nominated for a Cabinet post try not to cheat on your taxes. Please?