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Former Medford stockbroker pleads guilty to tax evasion A former Medford stockbroker indicted on charges of federal tax evasion pleaded guilty to tax fraud in federal court Thursday. Lewis Harrison Aytes, 52, of Medford, pleaded guilty in Portland to three counts of delivering and disclosing a fraudulent return for tax years 1992, 1993 and 1994. U.S. District Court Judge Anna J. Brown accepted Aytes' plea and set sentencing for March 5. Aytes faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine for each count. Aytes was employed as a financial consultant by the investment firm now known as Salomon Smith Barney from 1992 through 1994. He first came under scrutiny in 1996 when allegations of investment fraud surfaced at the firm's Medford branch. During his employment with Salomon Smith Barney, Aytes assisted many clients who acquired securities called limited partnership units, of which he received a share of the proceeds. He omitted this income from his federal tax returns, said Kenneth Hines, acting special agent-in-charge for the Internal Revenue Service. In many of the transactions, checks were issued to Aytes' sister-in-law Janice Watson and her husband, William Watson, Hines said. The checks were then converted to personal checks, cashier checks or business checks, usually payable to Aytes, minus a small fee for the Watsons, he said. Aytes used the money for a variety of things, which includes paying on an escrow account and college tuition for his two daughters, Hines said. Aytes and IRS agents agreed that the total tax loss for the years 1992 through 1994 is between $70,000 and $120,000 according to the plea agreement. State regulators in a separate case barred Aytes from working as a broker. The National Association of Securities Dealers fined Aytes $100,000 and suspended him for 18 months, saying he overcharged clients and sometimes failed to disclose that the transactions were off the Salomon Smith Barney books. The NASD also fined another broker and the firm's manager for their roles in the case. Aytes does not have a listed phone number and could not be reached for comment Thursday. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.