Joyce Meads’ income tax returns between 1997 and 2009 omited more than $1.3m in income linked to an interest oil wells she had received from her parents as a gift.
She conspired with offshore promoters to disguise her income by setting up nominee companies in Delaware and Panama in the name of W G Holdings Corporation.
Meads transferred her interest in the oil wells to the Delaware company, which meant the royalty cheques were made out to W G Holdings.
For nearly a decade, Meads had the cheques sent to a Miami post office box where they were picked up, couriered to Panama and deposited into a local bank account.
Her actions cost the US government more than $250,000 in unpaid taxes.
Repatriation
She was able to bring the funds back into the US by disguising them as scholarships or loans from W G Holdings to herself.
Meads later transferred the funds to bank accounts in her own name or her mother’s name.
Two of the Panama-based promoters who assisted Meads; Marc Harris of The Harris Organisation, and Boyce Griffin of Offshore Management Alliance Ltd., have also been convicted of conspiracy and other charges and were previously sentenced to prison.
Decade of concealment
“For more than a decade, Joyce Meads attempted to conceal her income from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by assigning it to a nominee entity and stashing it offshore,” said acting deputy assistant attorney general Goldberg.
“As [her] plea makes clear – the days of safely hiding your money offshore are over – the department continues to work with its law enforcement partners to find and hold accountable those who seek to evade paying their fair share of taxes.”
Chief Richard Weber of IRS Criminal Investigation (CI), added: “Joyce Meads’ attempt to use complex offshore schemes to evade paying her fair share of income taxes was no match for the skills of IRS Criminal Investigation special agents.
“IRS CI and the Department of Justice’s Tax Division share the same vision when it comes to investigating those who attempt to hide their income; whether it’s through offshore holdings or state-side entities, we are determined to put an end to this type of fraudulent activity.”
Meads will be sentenced on 4 August and faces a maximum five years in prison followed by a period of supervised release of up to three years, restitution and fines.
