…it usually is. Suppose someone came up to you and told you that you could put your assets in a U.S. trust, then funnel the money into a foreign (offshore) trust, and then have the money return to the U.S. and you would be able to have the taxes magically disappear. Would you believe that scheme?
Well, there’s a sucker born every minute and three individuals were there to take them. From Philadelphia comes the conviction of John Michael Crim, David Brownlee and Constance Taylor on charges of conspiring to defraud the IRS of $10 million. One other individual, Michael Crim (son of John Michael Crim) was acquitted. Six other unnamed defendants pleaded guilty earlier; one other individual awaits trial.
There was a lot of evidence in the case–70 boxes of evidence. There was also the testimony of three of the individuals who earlier pleaded guilty.
The one defendant who was acquitted should thank his lucky stars. Claire, a juror from Philadelphia, told the Philadelphia Daily News that Michael Crim was acquitted because he was, “too young to have mastered the business…and he was just a kid.” Hopefully the younger Mr. Crim (who is a resident of Orange County, California) will learn from his brush with the law and mend his ways.
As for the three who were found guilty their bail has already been revoked (the judge found them to be flight risks) while they await sentencing scheduled for May. They’re looking at lengthy terms at ClubFed.