2 Ohio men convicted for bilking the IRS of $8M
Notice: Undefined variable: article_ad_placement3 in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/single.php on line 128
CLEVELAND (AP) – A federal jury in northeast Ohio has convicted two men for defrauding the IRS of about $8 million through a tax refund scheme.
The jury in Cleveland Thursday found 38-year-old Gerard Scott and 64-year-old Don Gooch guilty of five charges of conspiring to defraud the federal agency and of making false claims to the federal government.
The Plain Dealer in Cleveland reports prosecutors alleged the men created a phony trust and falsely reported $17 million in withheld income taxes. The IRS then issued various refund checks totaling $8 million, which the defendants spent on luxury cars and other items.
The defendants acted as their own attorneys during the three-day trial and claimed they did not break any laws.
The presiding judge ordered Scott and Gooch taken into custody.