COLUMBUS -- A disbarred Florida lawyer pled guilty to a conspiracy charge today in connection with a scheme by Richard D. Schultz, former CEO of National Revenue Corporation, to conceal millions of dollars in an attempt to defraud creditors and the Internal Revenue Service.

Domenic L. Massari III, 49, of Clearwater, Florida, entered a plea of guilty today before the Honorable Algenon L. Marbley, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio. Massari pleaded guilty to a dual objective conspiracy in connection with a scheme to defraud Schultz's creditors and the IRS.

Massari admitted to assisting Schultz beginning in 1994 to defraud the IRS and Schultz's creditors by fabricating a letter and backdating it to May 29, 1973, in an attempt to make it appear that Schultz's father had title to $5,000,000 received by Schultz in connection with the sale of Schultz's stock in National Revenue Corporation. Massari also admitted to assisting Schultz defraud his creditors through bogus "loan" scheme and by repatriating Schultz's money kept offshore through a bank account in the name of one Massari's unwitting clients. In addition, Massari admitted facilitating Schultz's purchase of the civil judgments against Schultz through the use of nominees or "strawmen."

Last week Massari was charged by state prosecutors in Pinellas County, Florida, with perjury related to his disbarment by the Florida Supreme Court on October 31, 2002. The Florida Supreme Court disbarred Massari for forging a client's signature, misappropriating client funds for personal expenses, and creating a fraudulent document to conceal the misappropriation.

A number of persons, including Schultz, have been convicted of various federal charges in connection with Schultz's schemes to conceal millions of dollars through false and fraudulent transactions, including the use of offshore bank accounts in the Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Canada, Jersey of the Channel Islands, the United Kingdom and Luxembourg. On September 13, 2002, Judge Marbley sentenced Richard Schultz, 52, of Westerville to 30 months imprisonment, and ordered him to pay $1.26 million in restitution to the IRS, serve 416 hours of community service and pay a $28,500 fine. Between 1994 and 1998, Richard Schultz was President and Chief Executive Order of National Revenue Corporation, a Columbus-based collections agency. Thomas Schultz, 45, of Powell, Ohio, was sentenced to 24 months in prison, fined $7,500 and ordered to serve 416 hours of community service for his crimes. Thomas Schultz was a Vice President at National Revenue Corporation from1994 to 1998. In August 2001, Thomas Schultz pled guilty to conspiracy, failure to disclose foreign financial accounts, and obstruction of justice.

Last week, Francis J. McPeak of Clearwater, Florida, and Cedarwood Acquisition Corporation of Toronto, Canada, entered pleas of guilty to conspiracy charges related to Schultz's schemes to defraud his creditors and the IRS. Sentencing dates have not been set.

Others convicted in the scheme include Larry K. Carnahan, formerly of Westerville, Ohio, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax charges and was sentenced by Judge Marbley last year to 27 months in prison. A London Solicitor pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge last fall, and a Canadian businessman pleaded guilty in March 2003. Both are awaiting sentencing. On July 14, 2003, two persons, Ron Bogart of Toronto, Canada, and Martin W. Elson of Cleveland, Ohio, are scheduled to be tried before Judge Marbley on charges stemming from the criminal conspiracies to hide Schultz's assets and defraud his creditors, the IRS and others.

Gregory G. Lockhart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Christopher Wray, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, and Eileen J. O'Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division, along with Cromwell Handy, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service; and Elissa Brown, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, announced the guilty plea.

Lockhart commended the agents of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who investigated the case.

News releases from the U.S. Attorney's Office are available at www.usdoj.gov/usao/ohs/.