Arthur Gerard, 57, was sentenced to 46 months in prison on November 12, 2019 for conspiracy to defraud the United States in Charlotte, NC.
According to the evidence presented at trial, between October 2007 and May 2016, Gerard conspired with his client to hide from the Internal Revenue Service over $2.7 million in gross receipts earned through his client’s holistic medicine business.
To conceal income from the IRS, Gerard helped his client funnel his income through multiple layers of straw companies and bank accounts held by nominees. Gerard devised the scheme, caused the organization of straw companies in several states, recruited his friend to serve as a nominee on bank accounts, and at times, cashed checks for his client.
Gerard charged his client a fee of between $1,000 and $2,500 for each straw company.
Gerard also assisted his client in preparing and filing false documents with the IRS. Gerard helped his client file false 2005 and 2006 tax returns that fraudulently reported more than $200,000 in withheld federal income taxes.
Gerard also assisted his client in creating and filing false liens against property to give the appearance that there was no equity for IRS debt collection purposes. In total, Gerard’s conduct caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $560,000.
In addition to the term of imprisonment imposed, Gerard was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay restitution in the amount of $567,665 to the IRS.
