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NOVEMBER 13, 2002 The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced that Randolph George, formerly of San Francisco and now living in Manchester, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston) was convicted by a federal jury today of two counts of filing false tax returns in violation of Title 26 of U.S.C. Section 7206(1) and one count of failing to file a tax return in violation of Title 26 U.S.C. Section 7203. The convictions followed a week and half jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Maxine M. Chesney in San Francisco, California. Mr. George, age 55 and a former senior accountant at a large CPA firm, was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 30, 2001. He was charged with filing false tax returns for 1991 and 1992, and failure to file a tax return for 1993. The jury, after deliberating one day, found the defendant guilty of all charges. According to evidence presented at trial, in the early 1990s, Mr. George was hired to serve as a receiver for radio stations in the Western United States that were experiencing financial difficulty. As a receiver, Mr. George managed all aspects of the radio stations including exercising control over the business bank accounts and accounting records. The radio stations Mr. George managed included KRTY in Los Gatos, CA, KKIS in Concord, CA, KXGO in Arcata, CA and KHIT/KIIQ in Reno, NV. The indictment alleged that Mr. George did not report all business income on his 1991 and 1992 income tax returns. The evidence showed that Mr. George was paid receiver fees during 1991 and 1992 in the amounts of $90,001 and $125,432, respectively, which he did not report on his tax returns for those years. Evidence at trial revealed that during 1993, in addition to serving as a receiver for radio stations, Mr. George also managed a Walnut Creek paging company known as Tempo Personal Communication. The evidence showed that Mr. George was paid receiver fees totaling $154,595 in 1993, management fees with respect to Tempo Communications in the amount of $62,955 and other income in the amount of $25,000. Notwithstanding the receipt of $242,550 in business income for 1993, Mr. George never filed an income tax return for that year. The maximum statutory penalty for each count in violation of 26 U.S.C. Section 7206(1) is three years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The maximum statutory penalty for the count in violation of 26 U.S.C. Section 7203 is not more than one year in prison and a fine of $100,000. However, the actual sentence will be dictated by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of factors, and will be imposed in the discretion of the Court. The sentencing of Mr. George is scheduled for February 26, 2003, before Judge Chesney in San Francisco. The conviction is the result of a referral by the IRS Examination Division for further investigation to the IRS Criminal Investigation division. Mr. George's fraud was uncovered when a revenue agent found copies of income tax returns different from those filed with the IRS that had been submitted by Mr. George to financial institutions in conjunction with loan applications. David Denier is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case with the assistance of Kathy Tat. A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney's Office's website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can. Related court documents and information may be found on the District Court website at www.cand.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.cand.uscourts/gov. All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Jacobs at (415)436-7181.
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