Enabler Guilty Pleas from Sting Operation (7/12/14)

DOJ Tax has announced here the pleas of three enablers.  For the initial blog entry on the indictments, see IRS Sting Investigation Nabs Offshore Bank Account Enablers (Federal Tax Crimes Blog 3/24/14), here.  The enablers pleading are:  Joshua Vandyk, a U.S. citizen, and Eric St-Cyr and Patrick Poulin, Canadian citizens,  Here are key excerpts from the press release (bold face added by JAT):

According to the plea agreements and statements of facts, Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin conspired to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership and control of property believed to be the proceeds of bank fraud, specifically $2 million. Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin assisted undercover law enforcement agents posing as U.S. clients in laundering purported criminal proceeds through an offshore structure designed to conceal the true identity of the proceeds' owners. Vandyk and St-Cyr invested the laundered funds on the clients' behalf and represented that the funds would not be reported to the U.S. government. 

* * * * 

According to court documents, Vandyk and St-Cyr lived in the Cayman Islands and worked for an investment firm based in the Cayman Islands. St-Cyr was the founder and head of the investment firm, whose clientele included numerous U.S. citizens. Poulin, an attorney at a law firm based in Turks and Caicos, worked and resided in Canada as well as the Turks and Caicos. His clientele also included numerous U.S. citizens. Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin solicited U.S. citizens to use their services to hide assets from the U.S. government, including the IRS. Vandyk and St-Cyr directed the undercover agents posing as U.S. clients to create an offshore corporation with the assistance of Poulin and others because they and the investment firm did not want to appear to deal with U.S. clients. Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin used the offshore entity to move money into the Cayman Islands and used Poulin as a nominee intermediary for the transactions. 

According to court documents, Poulin established an offshore corporation called Zero Exposure Inc. for the undercover agents posing as U.S. clients and served as a nominal board member in lieu of the clients. Poulin transferred approximately $200,000 that Poulin, St-Cyr and Vandyk believed to be the proceeds of bank fraud from the offshore corporation to the Cayman Islands, where Vandyk and St-Cyr invested those funds outside of the United States in the name of the offshore corporation. The investment firm represented that it would neither disclose the investments or any investment gains to the U.S. government, nor would it provide monthly statements or other investment statements to the clients. Clients were able to monitor their investments online through the use of anonymous, numeric passcodes. Upon request from the U.S. client, Vandyk and St-Cyr liquidated investments and transfer money, through Poulin, back to the United States. According to Vandyk and St-Cyr, the investment firm would charge clients higher fees to launder criminal proceeds than to assist them in tax evasion.

Most enablers that I am aware of just played the tax evasion game and did not deliberately engage in money laundering.  That is why most enablers only draw an indictment for a tax conspiracy (5 years maximum), rather than for money laundering or money laundering conspiracy (20 years maximum).  Of course,at least in some cases, it may not be likely that the actual sentence for money laundering will exceed 5 years, but one can expect that, even then, the sentencing would  be greater for the money laundering violation than for the tax conspiracy violation.  And, some will likely get more than 5 years (which would be the maximum for a tax conspiracy violation).

Offshore Enabler Nabbed in Sting Operation Sentenced (9/5/14)

DOJ Tax has announced here the sentencing of Joshua Vandyk, an investment advisor, to 30 months in prison for conspiring to launder monetary instruments.   The key excerpts (actually most of the press release) are:

Vandyk, a U.S. citizen, and Eric St-Cyr and Patrick Poulin, Canadian citizens, were indicted by a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on March 6, and the indictment was unsealed March 12 after the defendants were arrested in Miami.  Vandyk, 34, pleaded guilty on June 12, St-Cyr, 50, pleaded guilty on June 27, and Poulin, 41, pleaded guilty on July 11.  St-Cyr and Poulin are scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 3.

According to the plea agreements and statements of facts, Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin conspired to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership and control of property believed to be the proceeds of bank fraud, specifically $2 million.  Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin assisted undercover law enforcement agents posing as U.S. clients in laundering purported criminal proceeds through an offshore structure designed to conceal the true identity of the proceeds’ owners.  Vandyk and St-Cyr invested the laundered funds on the clients’ behalf and represented that the funds would not be reported to the U.S. government.
 
According to court documents, Vandyk and St-Cyr lived in the Cayman Islands and worked for an investment firm based there.  St-Cyr was the founder and head of the investment firm, whose clientele included numerous U.S. citizens.  Poulin, an attorney at a law firm based in Turks and Caicos, worked and resided in Canada as well as Turks and Caicos.  His clientele also included numerous U.S. citizens.  Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin solicited U.S. citizens to use their services to hide assets from the U.S. government, including the IRS.  Vandyk and St-Cyr directed the undercover agents to create an offshore corporation with the assistance of Poulin and others because they and the investment firm did not want to appear to deal with U.S. clients.  Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin used the offshore entity to move money into the Cayman Islands and used Poulin as a nominee intermediary for the transactions.

According to court documents, Poulin established an offshore corporation called Zero Exposure Inc. for the undercover agents and served as a nominal board member in lieu of the clients.  Poulin transferred approximately $200,000 that the defendants believed to be the proceeds of bank fraud from the offshore corporation to the Cayman Islands, where Vandyk and St-Cyr invested those funds outside of the United States in the name of the offshore corporation.  The investment firm represented that it would neither disclose the investments or any investment gains to the U.S. government, nor would it provide monthly statements or other investment statements to the clients.  Clients were able to monitor their investments online through the use of anonymous, numeric passcodes.  Upon request from the U.S. client, Vandyk and St-Cyr liquidated investments and transfered money, through Poulin, back to the United States.  According to Vandyk and St-Cyr, the investment firm would charge clients higher fees to launder criminal proceeds than to assist them in tax evasion.

Two Enablers Caught in Sting Investigation Sentenced (10/3/14)

According to a DOJ Press release, here, two offshore financial account enablers -- Eric St.-Cyr and Patrick Poulin -- were sentenced "to serve 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release each for conspiring to launder monetary instruments."    The sentences were lighter based on the defendants' substantial cooperation with ongoing investigations.  Links to prior blog entries related to these sentencings are the end of this blog entry.

Key excerpts from the press release are:

According to the plea agreements and statements of facts, Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin conspired to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership and control of property believed to be the proceeds of bank fraud, specifically $2 million.  Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin assisted undercover law enforcement agents posing as U.S. clients in laundering purported criminal proceeds through an offshore structure designed to conceal the true identity of the proceeds’ owners.  Vandyk and St-Cyr invested the laundered funds on the clients’ behalf and represented that the funds would not be reported to the U.S. government. 

* * *   “This investigation, which lasted years, involved extensive undercover activity as well as cooperation from multiple foreign law enforcement agencies.  The undercover IRS agents in this investigation went to Canada, the Turks and Caicos and the Cayman Islands to develop the evidence.  These two defendants are cooperating with the IRS, and we anticipate that other investigations will develop from the information they have provided.” 

 * * * * 

According to court documents, Vandyk and St-Cyr lived in the Cayman Islands and worked for an investment firm based there.  St-Cyr was the founder and head of the investment firm, whose clientele included numerous U.S. citizens.  Poulin, an attorney at a law firm based in Turks and Caicos, worked and resided in Canada as well as Turks and Caicos.  His clientele also included numerous U.S. citizens.  Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin solicited U.S. citizens to use their services to hide assets from the U.S. government, including the IRS.  Vandyk and St-Cyr directed the undercover agents to create an offshore corporation with the assistance of Poulin and others because they and the investment firm did not want to appear to deal with U.S. clients.  Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin used the offshore entity to move money into the Cayman Islands and used Poulin as a nominee intermediary for the transactions. 

According to court documents, Poulin established an offshore corporation called Zero Exposure Inc. for the undercover agents and served as a nominal board member in lieu of the clients.  Poulin transferred approximately $200,000 that the defendants believed to be the proceeds of bank fraud from the offshore corporation to the Cayman Islands, where Vandyk and St-Cyr invested those funds outside of the United States in the name of the offshore corporation.  The investment firm represented that it would neither disclose the investments or any investment gains to the U.S. government, nor would it provide monthly statements or other investment statements to the clients.  Clients were able to monitor their investments online through the use of anonymous, numeric passcodes.  Upon request from the U.S. client, Vandyk and St-Cyr liquidated investments and transferred money, through Poulin, back to the United States.  According to Vandyk and St-Cyr, the investment firm would charge clients higher fees to launder criminal proceeds than to assist them in tax evasion.

Readers should note that one of their colleagues, Joshua Vandyk, an attorney, caught up in the same conduct and indicted at the same time, was previously sentenced to 30 months.  See Offshore Enabler Nabbed in Sting Operation Sentenced (Federal Tax Crimes Blog 9/5/14), here.  There is no specific indication as to the differences in the sentencings, but the St.-Cyr and Poulin sentencing press release emphasizes their cooperation, but the Vandyk sentencing press release does not indicate cooperation.

Other Prior Related Blog Entries:

• Enabler Guilty Pleas from Sting Operation (Federal Tax Crimes Blog 7/12/14), here.
• IRS Sting Investigation Nabs Offshore Bank Account Enablers (Federal Tax Crimes Blog 3/24/14), here.

IRS Sting Investigation Nabs Offshore Bank Account Enablers (3/24/14)

According to a DOJ Tax Press Release, here, the IRS nabbed a U.S. Citizen and two Canadian citizens who offered enabler services to U.S. taxpayers.  They were caught in a classic IRS sting operation.  Here are key excerpts (bold-face by JAT):

Joshua Vandyk, a U.S. citizen, and Eric St-Cyr and Patrick Poulin, Canadian citizens, were indicted for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.  The indictment alleges that Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin conspired to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership and control of property believed to be the proceeds of bank fraud.  The Caribbean-based defendants allegedly assisted undercover law enforcement agents, posing as U.S. clients, in laundering purported criminal proceeds through an offshore structure designed to conceal the true identity of the proceeds’ owners.  Vandyk and St-Cyr invested the laundered funds on the clients’ behalf and represented the funds would not be reported to the U.S. government.  

* * *  In addition to the conspiracy charge, Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin were each charged with two counts of money laundering.  

* * * * 

According to the indictment, Vandyk and St-Cyr lived in the Cayman Islands and worked for an investment firm based in the Cayman Islands.  St-Cyr was the founder and head of the investment firm, whose clientele included numerous U.S. citizens.  Poulin, an attorney at a law firm based in Turks and Caicos, worked and resided in Canada and in the Turks and Caicos.  His clientele also included numerous U.S. citizens.   

 According to the indictment, Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin solicited U.S. citizens to use their services to hide assets from the U.S. government.  Vandyk and St-Cyr directed the undercover agents posing as U.S. clients to create offshore foundations with the assistance of Poulin and others because they and the investment firm did not want to appear to deal with U.S. clients.  Vandyk and St-Cyr used the offshore entities to move money into the Cayman Islands and used foreign attorneys as intermediaries for such transactions.  

 According to the indictment, Poulin established an offshore foundation for the undercover agents posing as U.S. clients and served as a nominal board member in lieu of the clients.  Poulin transferred wire payments from the offshore foundations to the Cayman Islands, where Vandyk and St-Cyr invested those funds outside the United States in the name of the offshore foundation.  The investment firm represented that it would neither disclose the investments or any investment gains to the U.S. government, nor would it provide monthly statements or other investment statements to the clients.  Clients were able to monitor their investments online through the use of anonymous, numeric passcodes.  Upon request from the U.S. client, Vandyk and St-Cyr would liquidate investments and transfer money, through Poulin, back to the United States.  According to Vandyk and St-Cyr, the investment firm would charge clients higher fees to launder criminal proceeds than to assist them in tax evasion. 

So, it appears that they were both money laundering (not yet alleged against Swiss enablers that I am aware of) and ordinary enablement of U.S. tax evasion (which is what the charge against the Swiss enablers that I am aware of).

More On IRS Sting Operation in the Recent Indictments (4/5/14)

I recently reported on indictments arising from an IRS sting operation on offshore accounts in tax haven jurisdiction other than Switzerland.  See IRS Sting Investigation Nabs Offshore Bank Account Enablers (3/24/14), here.  Rounding out that story for now is the following article:  Laura Saunders, Offshore accounts: the next target (WSJ Marketwatch 4/4/14), here.  Here some excerpts (with bold face added by JAT to draw your attention to things I think particularly important):

This past week, an official at the Justice Department said the sting should serve as a warning about offshore accounts. 

“The Cayman case illustrates that we have ways of getting information that people don’t know about,” Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the department’s Tax Division said at a news conference in New York. “The days of waiting for a warning sign, such as a letter from a bank, are over.” 

Keneally said that the government receives account information from many sources, including whistleblowers hoping for monetary rewards. She declined to comment on whether U.S. officials have the names of Americans who hold accounts in the Caymans or elsewhere in the Caribbean as a result of this probe. 

Taxpayers are ineligible to participate in the IRS’s limited-amnesty program for undeclared offshore accounts if U.S. authorities already have their names. The program imposes steep penalties but offers protection against criminal prosecution.
Experts believe U.S. authorities do have names of account holders in the Caymans.
“Announcements by the government about this case suggest it already has customer lists, although officials can’t confirm it,” says Bryan Skarlatos, a lawyer at Kostelanetz & Fink in New York, which has handled more than a thousand confessions by U.S. taxpayers with offshore accounts. 

* * * * 

In March of last year, the indictment says, three undercover IRS agents met with St-Cyr and VanDyk in Miami. One of the agents represented himself as a U.S. citizen who wanted to launder $2 million. 

To show how the scheme worked, Poulin, VanDyk and St-Cyr arranged several transfers of $200,000, the indictment alleges. 

In December, the funds were wired from a Virginia account to an account at Poulin’s law firm in the Turks and Caicos, according to the indictment. The $200,000 was then moved to an account in the Cayman Islands, and most of it was returned to the U.S. in February. 

Poulin allegedly told the IRS agents that most of his clients were Canadian or American. The entire $2 million was intended to be concealed, in part by using a foundation named Zero Exposure in the Turks and Caicos. 

St-Cyr and VanDyk allegedly said that they charged clients more to launder criminal proceeds than to assist in tax evasion, according to the indictment. They also said a foundation was preferred for laundering criminal proceeds, while a trust was sufficient to conceal tax evasion.

This sting operation appears similar to one involved in the Aegis criminal investigation.  I have previously blogged on some of the criminal prosecutions arising out of that investigation.  See here.  That operation involved shunting untaxed money to offshore entities as the means to evade U.S. tax.  IRS agents participating in either an IRS investigation or a grand jury investigation attended promotional meetings outside the U.S. and then did sting operations on U.S. persons (such as return preparers who enabled the evasion, either willingly or unintentionally).  This is the first time I am aware that the IRS had done a sting operation in the current round of offshore initiatives commencing with UBS in 2009, but I suspect that there are others that have been commenced earlier and will be ongoing.  We will undoubtedly hear more later.

Another Offshore Account Guilty Plea Coupled with Bank Fraud Conspiracy (3/25/17)

DOJ Tax announced here a guilty plea to commit tax and bank fraud by a U.S. taxpayer, Casey Padula, with offshore accounts assisted by two offshore account enablers, Joshua VanDyk and Eric St-Cyr at Clover Asset Management.  I link at the end of this blog the prior blogs involving those enablers who previously pled and were sentenced.  The key excerpts listing Padula's skullduggery are:

According to documents filed with the court, Casey Padula, 48, of Port Charlotte, was the sole shareholder of Demandblox Inc. (Demandblox), a marketing and information technology business. Padula conspired with others to move funds from Demandblox to offshore accounts in Belize and disguised them as business expenses in Demandblox’s corporate records. Padula created two offshore companies in Belize: Intellectual Property Partners Inc. (IPPI) and Latin American Labor Outsourcing Inc. (LALO). He opened and controlled bank accounts in the names of these entities at Heritage International Bank & Trust Limited (Heritage Bank), a financial institution located in Belize. From 2012 through 2013, Padula caused periodic payments to be sent from Demandblox to his accounts at Heritage Bank and deposited approximately $2,490,688. Padula used the funds to pay for personal expenses and purchase significant personal assets. However, he falsely recorded these payments in Demandblox’s corporate books as intellectual property rights or royalty fees and deducted them as business expenses on Demandblox’s 2012 and 2013 corporate tax returns causing a tax loss of more than $728,000. 

Padula also conspired with investment advisors Joshua VanDyk and Eric St-Cyr at Clover Asset Management (CAM), a Cayman Islands investment firm, to open and fund an investment account that he would control, but that would not be in his name. Heritage Bank had an account at CAM in its name and its clients could get a subaccount through Heritage Bank at CAM, which would not be in the client’s name but rather would be a numbered account. Padula transferred $1,000,080 from the IPPI bank account at Heritage Bank in Belize to CAM to fund a numbered account. 

In addition to the tax fraud, Padula also conspired with others to commit bank fraud. Padula had a mortgage on his Port Charlotte, Florida home of approximately $1.5 million with Bank of America (BoA). In 2012, he sent a letter to the bank stating that he could no longer repay his loan. At the same time, Padula provided Robert Robinson, III, 43, who acted as a nominee buyer, with more than $625,000 from his IPPI bank account in Belize to fund a short sale of Padula’s home. Padula and Robinson signed a contract, which falsely represented that the property was sold through an “arms-length transaction,” and agreed that Padula would not be permitted to remain in the property after the sale. Padula in fact never moved from his home and less than two months after the closing, Robinson conveyed it back to Padula by transferring ownership to one of Padula’s Belizean entities for $1. Robinson also pleaded guilty today to signing a false Form HUD-1 in connection with his role in the scheme. 

* * * * 

Padula faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison, a term of supervised release and monetary penalties. As part of his plea agreement, Padula agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $728,609 to the IRS and to BoA in the amount of $728,609. Robinson faces a statutory maximum sentence of one year in prison, a term of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

The related documents are:

• The Information, here.
• The Plea agreement, here.

JAT Comments: