“GLOBAL PROSPERITY” PRINCIPAL CONVICTED OF TAX FRAUD

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division, U.S. Department of Justice, John McKay, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, and Nancy Jardini, Chief, Internal Revenue (IRS) Service Criminal Investigation Division, announced today that at the federal courthouse in Seattle, Washington, Dwayne Robare pled guilty to superseding information charging him with income tax evasion for the 2000 tax year.

On May 12, 2004, Mr. Robare was indicted-along with alleged Institute of Global Prosperity founders Daniel Anderson, David Struckman, Lorenzo (“Zo”) Lamantia (also known as “Lorenzo Milano”), and Kuldip Singh-on a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States by impeding the IRS. Mr. Robare faces a maximum potential sentence of five years in jail, followed by up to three years of supervised release, $250,000 in fines, and liability for the costs of prosecution.

“People who move money into domestic or foreign trusts to evade taxes risk criminal prosecution and jail,” said Assistant Attorney General O’Connor. “And in the end, they will still owe the taxes, with interest and penalties added.”

“The government will not tolerate abusive tax schemes that promote the use of offshore accounts to illegally escape taxes,” said Chief Jardini. “Those Americans who file accurate, honest and timely returns can be assured that the government will hold accountable those who don't.”

The information alleges that Mr. Robare, age 43, of Leominster, Massachusetts, became affiliated with the Institute of Global Prosperity (IGP) in 1997 and for several years thereafter operated and maintained its teleconferencing system located in Marlboro, Massachusetts. IGP members subscribed to the teleconferencing services by remitting fees to a nominee entity named Independent Diversity Entrepreneurs and Associates (IDEA). Mr. Robare was a partner of IDEA and shared in the profits generated from fees paid to IDEA from 1997 through 2002.

In a statement of facts provided to the court, Mr. Robare admitted to receiving income from his work with IGP from approximately 1997 through 2002. Mr. Robare admitted that he used various means to conceal his income from the IRS. This included a false trust with a domestic bank account which he obtained from Innovative Financial Consultants in Arizona and an offshore trust and foreign bank account which he obtained from Prosper International League Limited in the Bahamas. Mr. Robare admitted that the resulting tax loss totaled between $120,000 and $200,000. Mr. Robare agreed to cooperate fully with the IRS in the ascertainment, computation, and payment of his correct federal and state income tax liabilities.

Assistant Attorney General O’Connor thanked Tax Division Trial Attorneys Larry Wszalek and Mark Odulio, who prosecuted the case. She also thanked the special agents of the IRS whose assistance was essential to the successful investigation and prosecution of the case.

In July 2004, IGP founder Daniel Andersen pled guilty to a tax charge stemming from a conspiracy to defraud the United States and awaits sentencing. The remaining defendants are awaiting trial. The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. In the American justice system, a person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty in a court of law.

Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.usdoj.gov/tax <http://www.usdoj.gov/tax>.

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