An attorney in Florida was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax evasion in connection with his promotion of an illegal tax shelter scheme involving phony charitable deductions.
According to court documents and testimony, Michael L. Meyer of Davie, Florida, exploited his skills as an attorney and certified public accountant to market his bogus tax shelter known as “The Ultimate Tax Plan” from at least 2013 until 2021.
Meyer and his co-conspirators, Rao Garuda and Cullen Fischel, advertised the scheme as a means for high-income clients to cut their taxes by deducting charity gifts that Meyer knew were fake.
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Meyer produced boilerplate transaction documentation for his clients, giving the impression that they had contributed substantial property to Meyer-controlled charity.
In actuality, the customers kept full control of the usage of the donated assets. Meyer incorrectly advised customers that they could lawfully access their donated assets for personal use via tax-free loans and then utilize an “exit strategy” to buy back their donations at a considerably reduced rate.
Meyer, in some cases, backdated documents so that clients could claim alleged donations on previous years’ tax returns.
Meyer ignored several warnings that his scheme was illegal, including the IRS, over the years. Indeed, the IRS performed many audits of Meyer’s organizations, concluding that the Ultimate Tax Plan was a financial scam.
Meyer signed documentation recognizing the discovery and agreeing to shut the fraudulent nonprofits. Meyer, on the other hand, just established new “charities” while continuing to market his unlawful shelter to wealthy taxpayers.
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In April 2018, the Justice Department launched a civil suit against Meyer, trying to stop him from promoting the Ultimate Tax Plan. As part of the action, the Justice Department served civil subpoenas on Meyer’s clients, asking records relating to the Ultimate Tax Plan. Meyer responded by creating fraudulent, backdated documents and directing clients to submit them to the Justice Department.
Meyer also gave fake, backdated documents in response to document demands made directly by the Justice Department. In April 2019, a federal district court permanently prohibited Meyer from organizing, promoting, marketing, or selling the Ultimate Tax Plan.
Meyer made more than $10 million by selling the Ultimate Tax Plan. He used that money to buy a multimillion-dollar mansion and a collection of expensive vehicles, including Lamborghinis, Rolls-Royces, Mercedes-Benzes, a Bentley, and a Ferrari.
In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Moore for the Southern District of Georgia ordered Meyer to serve three years of supervised release. The court will determine restitution at a later date.
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