Tax Update Blog: Permalink

« Previous · Tax Update Blog Home · Next »

TWO MORE 'AEGIS' CUSTOMERS WIN VACATION AT CLUB FED

September 16, 2008

In greek mythology, the aegis is the shield of Zeus. Wikipedia explains:

When the Olympian shakes the aegis, Mount Ida is wrapped in clouds, the thunder rolls and men are struck down with fear.

Maybe that's how two West Virginia doctors felt yesterday when they were sentenced to prison for their involvemment with another Aegis:

On Monday, U.S. District Judge David A. Faber sentenced Dr. Nelson E. Velazquez, 50, to a year in prison and Dr. David L. Tolliver, 53, to a month in prison followed by five months on home confinement.
Both men were caught up in the Aegis system, a Chicago-based scheme in which the promoters promised to shelter money in tax-free trust funds, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Robinson.

"Aegis" was also the name of a Chicago-based outfit that sold tax evasion schemes using trusts and offshore accounts. Six founders of the Aegis Company were convicted this spring in a "$60 million conspiracy." But when tax scams go bad, it's not just the promoters that can end up in front of the judge, as the West Virginia doctors have learned the hard way.

The moral: when a golf buddy tries to get you to the guy who showed him how to make taxes go away through offshore trusts, maybe you should go home when you reach the turn.

Tags: scams.tax crime.