Florida CPA facing up to five years for fraudulent tax shelter scheme

FLORIDA – A Florida CPA has pleaded guilty to conspiring to promote a fraudulent tax shelter scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced.

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According to the DOJ, last week, Ralph B. Anderson of Naples, Florida, pleaded guilty in the District of New Jersey to conspiring to sell fraudulent tax deductions disguised as charitable deductions to high-income clients.

According to the information and other court documents and statements made in court, Anderson promoted and sold fraudulent syndicated conservation easement tax shelters that allowed high-income clients to buy tax deductions to shelter their income from taxes illegally.

These illegal tax shelters facilitated high-income taxpayers in claiming inflated charitable contribution tax deductions in connection with the donation of a conservation easement over land, the DOJ said in its statement.

Between 2013 and 2019, while working as a CPA, Anderson, along with others, promoted and helped sell such fraudulent syndicated conservation easement tax shelters. To carry out the scheme, the conspirators obtained falsely inflated appraisals in order to achieve the desired amount of tax deductions, according to court documents.

Anderson reportedly was paid more than $300,000 in commissions for his promotion and sale of the tax shelters. He also was given “free units” he could use to take false deductions for charitable contributions on his own tax returns, the DOJ said. As a part of his guilty plea, Anderson admitted his conduct resulted in a loss of nearly $3.5 million.

Anderson is scheduled to be sentenced on June 7, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.