According to a press release, Mr. Walter Anderson’s tax fraud resulted in the “largest personal income tax evasion case brought by the Department of Justice”. Pursuant to his September 8, 2006 plea agreement, telecommunications entrepreneur Walter Anderson pleaded guilty to violating two counts of 26 U.S.C. § 7201 (Attempt to evade or defeat tax), and one count of Title 22 District of Columbia Code § 3221 {a}, (Fraud in the first degree).
The Court sentenced Mr. Anderson on March 27, 2007 to nine years of prison for his failure to report about $365 million in income between 1995 and 1999; and also ordered him to pay the District of Columbia restitution in the amount of $22,809,032 dollars. The superseding indictment filed on September 30, 2005 essentially alleged that Mr. Anderson had hidden undeclared revenue through offshore shell companies and bearer shares, (i.e. negotiable stocks filled out in the name of the “bearer”, for which no register of ownership is kept).
According to the allegations in his indictment, Mr. Anderson had hired Arias, Fabrega & Fabrega Trust Co. (BVI) to secretly form the nominee shell company, Gold & Appel Transfer, S.A. Mr. Anderson was accused of using it and other shell companies like Aurora Telecommunications Limited, to hide assets. By possessing the bearer shares of shell company Iceberg Transport, S.A., (which in turn owned the stock of Gold & Appel), Mr. Anderson was apparently able to secretly control hundreds of millions of dollars.
(Edited May 27, 2012)
Copyright 2007-2012 Fred L. Abrams