WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced today that a federal court in Seattle, Wash., has permanently enjoined “Institute for Global Prosperity” co-director, Lorenzo Lamantia, from promoting an arrangement that the government’s complaint called a tax-fraud scheme. The government complaint alleges that Lamantia sold audiotapes, CDs, and tickets to offshore seminars on “wealth-building” strategies — charging customers as much as $18,750. At the seminars, vendors allegedly promoted bogus trust packages and other schemes designed to conceal customers’ income. Global Prosperity allegedly received more than $40 million from selling these products and services.
On December 15, 2005, Lamantia pled guilty to felony tax charges of tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the United States by impeding the Internal Revenue Service. Information on the criminal case is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv05674.htm.
Misuse of trusts tops the IRS’s most recent list of “Dirty Dozen” tax schemes. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=120803,00.html. Since 2001, the Justice Department has sought and obtained injunctions against more than 190 tax-scam promoters and tax preparers. Information about these cases is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2006.htm. Information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax.
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