FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TAX FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 1995 (202) 616-2765 TDD (202) 514-1888 FIVE PEOPLE INDICTED IN DIESEL FUEL EXCISE TAX FRAUD SCHEME WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A United States District Court judge in Dallas today unsealed an indictment of five people on charges of tax evasion, wire fraud and money laundering for their involvement in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Treasury of more than $1.3 million in diesel fuel excise taxes during 1989 and 1990, the Department of Justice's Tax Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Dallas announced. Indicted were Lawrence M. Harrison, Lawrence J. Harrison, Joseph M. Harrison, Peter F. Raneri, and Susie Mulry, who owned and operated Hebco Petroleum, Inc., a wholesale motor fuel distributor in Dallas. Lawrence M. Harrison is the father of defendants Lawrence J. Harrison, Joseph M. Harrison and Susie Mulry. According to the indictment, the defendants, through Hebco, bought more than 10 million gallons of diesel fuel tax-free from suppliers. They then resold the diesel fuel to various customers at a price that included excise tax. The excise taxes were never paid over to the government. False invoices were created stating that another company made the diesel fuel sales to Hebco's customers instead of Hebco. Lawrence M. Harrison and Joseph M. Harrison were arrested yesterday in Seattle, Washington. They will be arraigned in Dallas. The remaining defendants are expected to surrender shortly. The 11 count indictment was returned under seal in U.S. District Court in Dallas, Texas, on December 8, 1994, in order to give the government sufficient opportunity to locate and arrest Lawrence M. Harrison, a fugitive in connection with a state indictment. The indictment charged Lawrence M. Harrison, Lawrence J. Harrison, Joseph M. Harrison, Peter F. Raneri and Susie Mulry each with one count of conspiracy and two counts of excise tax evasion. Lawrence M. Harrison, Joseph M. Harrison, and Peter F. Raneri also were charged with two counts of wire fraud, five counts of money laundering, and one count of criminal forfeiture. Lawrence M. Harrison, Lawrence J. Harrison, Joseph M. Harrison, and Peter F. Raneri each face up to 125 years in prison and substantial fines if convicted; Susie Mulry faces up to 15 years in prison and substantial fines if she is convicted. The indictment is part of an ongoing nationwide investigation by the Tax Division and the Internal Revenue Service into motor fuel excise tax fraud. This case was investigated by attorneys from the Tax Division and from the U.S. Attorney's office in Dallas and special agents from the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service. #### 95-55