By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services
The
U.S. Department of Justice reports
that a man surnamed Reyes, 38 years
old and a resident of Florida, pled
guilty today to federal charges of
conspiracy to commit mail fraud and
mail fraud.
He appeared in federal court on
Wednesday morning before U.S.
District Judge Catherine Perry who
accepted his guilty plea and set
sentencing for June 7, 2019.
According to court documents,
beginning in April 2016, a Missouri
resident over the age of 80 began
receiving telephone calls from
unknown individual saying that he
had won large sums of money through
a sweepstakes.
In order to secure his winnings, the
Missouri resident was advised to
mail various amounts of money to an
individual in New Hampshire and
Reyes in Florida.
The callers identified Reyes as a
federal attorney. That
representation was false as Reyes
was not, and had never been,
affiliated with the United States
Department of Justice or any other
federal agency or department.
Reyes received four checks totaling
$53,000, and deposited them into his
personal financial accounts.
After the deposits, Reyes
electronically transmitted a portion
of the funds to an individual in
Costa Rica, and kept the remaining
funds for his personal use.
Reyes also admitted engaging in
similar conduct with a resident of
the Northern District of Alabama,
and received $45,000 from that
elderly individual.
Reyes faces up to 20 years’
imprisonment, a fine of more than
$250,000 or both per count.
In determining the actual sentences,
a judge is required to consider the
U.S. sentencing guidelines, which
provide recommended sentencing
ranges.
This case was investigated by the
United States Postal Inspection
Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney
Tracy Berry is handling the case for
the U.S. Attorney’s Office as part
of the United States Department of
Justice on-going effort to combat
elder fraud nationwide.
Elder fraud complaints may be filed
with the FTC at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov
or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Department
of Justice provides a variety of
resources relating to elder fraud
victimization through its Office of
Victims of Crimes.
More information on Reyes case may
be reached at U.S. Department of
Justice here.
Related to cases of U.S. citizens
crimes and linked to Costa Rica, as
A.M. Costa Rica reported in February
15th, a man gets 7 years in
prison for hiding millions from IRS.
On February 4, United States
Attorney Erica H. MacDonald
announced the sentencing of
an U.S. Citizen surnamed Flynn, 57
years old, to 87 months of federal
prison.
Before the sentencing, on June 5,
2018 United States Attorney
Gregory G. Brooker announced the
guilty plea of Flynn, to one count
of conspiracy to defraud the
United States and one count of
filing a false tax return.
Flynn, who was initially charged
on December 21, 2016, pleaded
guilty before Senior U.S. District
Judge Ann D. Montgomery in
Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“ Flynn devised a complex fraud
scheme by creating a labyrinth of
business entities and layers of
obfuscation to hide tens of
millions of dollars from the IRS,”
said Assistant U.S. Attorney David
Maclaughlin.
“ Flynn generated his income using
an alias name while hiding behind
randomly-named Nevada-based
companies titled in the name of
his father. Flynn then sent the
income he earned in this way to
Australia to be held by nominees,
and then repatriated the money
indirectly, sometimes through
Costa Rica. Flynn acknowledged at
his plea hearing that he took
these steps to defraud the
Internal Revenue Service. Flynn’s
scheme was animated by his desire
to live a luxurious lifestyle
unencumbered by income tax
liabilities, a desire fulfilled by
his purchase of a $2.7 million
mansion in Orono with untaxed
income repatriated through Costa
Rica.” said Maclaughlin.
He was also ordered to pay over $5
million in restitution.
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A.M. Costa
Rica wire services
photo
After
the deposits, Reyes
electronically
transmitted a portion
of the funds to an
individual in Costa
Rica, and kept the
remaining funds for
his personal use.
Flynn was
sentenced by Senior
U.S. District Judge
Ann D. Montgomery on
January 24, 2019, in
Minneapolis,
Minnesota.
According to
the defendant’s guilty
plea and documents
filed in court,
between 2005 and 2015,
Flynn evaded the
assessment of millions
of dollars in income
taxes by fraudulently
hiding millions of
shares of stock that
he obtained for
himself.
In 2006 and 2008,
Flynn assisted two
privately-held
Wisconsin-based
companies, in becoming
publicly traded
through
stock-for-stock
“reverse merger”
transactions.
As compensation for
Flynn's work, millions
of shares of
publicly-traded stock
in the resulting
public companies were
transferred to
“Integritas, Inc.” and
“Diversified Equities
Partners,” both of
which were
controlled by Flynn.
Flynn, who exercised
control over the
stock, which had
considerable value,
was required to, but
did not, report the
receipt of the shares
of stock as income on
his individual income
tax returns.
According to the
defendant’s guilty
plea and documents
filed in court, in
order to conceal his
control and ownership
of the stock, and to
evade paying income
taxes, Flynn caused a
portion of the stock
to be put in the names
of Australian nominees
recruited by Flynn’s
co-conspirator.
The
Australian nominees,
who never actually
owned or controlled
the stock, were
directed to open
brokerage accounts in
the United States to
receive the shares,
but Flynn possessed
their login and
password data so he
could maintain control
of the accounts and
the shares of stock.
According to the
defendant’s guilty
plea and documents
filed in court, during
the course of the
conspiracy, when Flynn
needed money, he
caused the Australian
nominees to sell
shares of stock and
transfer the proceeds
to entities in the
United States
controlled by Flynn,
which in turn made
payments to Flynn or
on his behalf.
These
sales generated
millions of dollars in
income, which Flynn
purposely failed to
report to the IRS.
For example, in 2007,
Flynn received
approximately $2.7
million of the
proceeds from the
Australian nominees to
buy a house in Orono,
Minnesota, which was
considered income to
Flynn.
That year, in a tax
return Flynn
acknowledged was
materially false at
his guilty plea
hearing, Flynn
reported only $26,136
of total income.
United States Attorney
MacDonald thanked the
Criminal Investigation
Division of the IRS
who investigated the
case and Assistant
United States
Attorneys David J.
Maclaughlin and
Benjamin F. Langner
who prosecuted the
case.
More information on
this case may be
reached at U.S.
Department of
Justice here.
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