A federal jury in Charlotte, North Carolina convicted a Charlotte man today of conspiracy to defraud the government.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between October 2007 and May 2016, Arthur Joseph Gerard III assisted clients in hiding income and assets from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) using straw companies and bank accounts opened in the names of those companies.
In particular, Gerard conspired with his client, Reuben DeHaan, to hide from the IRS over $2.7 million in gross receipts earned by DeHaan through his holistic medicine business. Gerard recruited his friend, Richard H. Campbell Jr., into the scheme to serve as a nominee on DeHaan’s bank accounts. Gerard also assisted DeHaan in the filing of false documents with the IRS to obstruct the IRS’ collection efforts. Gerard charged DeHaan a fee of between $1,000 and $2,500 for each straw company he created. In total, Gerard’s conduct caused a tax loss of approximately $560,000.
Gerard faces a statutory maximum of five years in prison, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. DeHaan and Campbell each previously pleaded guilty and have been sentenced.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Murray commended special agents of IRS–Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney William Miller and Trial Attorney Mara Strier of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.
