Man arrested for tax fraud - May 11, 2005

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

2005-05-13

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69 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, May 13, 2005   Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery  | Contact Us       SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries   Life   Opinion   Tempo   AP News   Weather   Classified   Archives   Site Map   SPECIAL SECTIONS   Since We Asked   Outdoor Journal   Menu Guide   How To Guide   Health   Readers' Choice   Real Estate Showcase   Real Estate Guide   Joy Magazine   Homelife Magazine   Wedding Guide   Passport to the Rogue Valley     SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad  TOP JOBS   EXTRA   Ashland News   NIE   Personals   Movie Times   TV Times   E The People   Volunteer   Moving here?  eSouthernOregon   CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 11, 2005 Man arrested for tax fraud Hawaiian accused of bilking clients out of hundreds of thousands in tax-evasion schemes The Associated Press HONOLULU — A Maui man accused of offering to help clients hide assets and evade paying taxes has been arrested in Oregon on tax fraud and other charges, the Justice Department said Tuesday. John David Van Hove was arrested Monday in Ashland for allegedly making false promises to clients of a financial planning business he operated on Maui, the government said. He had been indicted on April 7 for wire fraud, obstructing the administration of tax laws and avoiding the filing of individual income tax returns, but the indictment was sealed pending his arrest. Van Hove is accused of bilking an undisclosed number of people out of $700,000 from at least two of his businesses, Liberty Foundation Services and Abundant Holdings Ltd., said Michael Vasiliadis, an attorney with the Department of Justice. Most clients allegedly lost their money after falling for Van Hove’s promise of return rates reaching 25 percent per month, the government said. Advertisement Van Hove, 52, allegedly offered a host of schemes to help clients conceal income and assets from the IRS. He allegedly gave clients faulty advice on how to get out of paying taxes, using common law trusts to hide income and assets, hiding assets in offshore trusts and opening fake businesses to disguise holdings, the Justice Department said. Van Hove allegedly started operating illegally in 1997 in an unknown location, Vasiliadis said. He opened a business in Kihei on Maui in December 1998 and operated out of other undisclosed parts of Maui starting in December 1999. He also failed to file income tax returns for $281,890 he earned working for the Institute for Global Prosperity, an organization that had been investigated for tax-related crimes in 2002. The Justice Department would not comment on the investigation or the circumstances of Van Hove’s arrest. The department also wouldn’t say where Van Hove’s victims were based. If convicted, Van Hove faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the wire fraud charge, the stiffest punishment of all the charges. Mail Tribune Home  | Local News  | Sports  | Business  | Obituaries  | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives  |  Site Map  | Community  | Classified   Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Paris Hilton Online Poker Auto Insurance Mesothelioma Slippers Student Loans Tatoo tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoos Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Payday Loans Advertisement s