(InEDC) BY FOX Jacque Porter Published: Aug 30, 2023 / 01:02 PM PDT
(FOX40.COM) — An El Dorado Hills couple were sentenced in a tax fraud scheme, the Department of Justice said.
The husband, a former mortgage broker for Wells Fargo and then Bank of America, was convicted of filing false tax returns in 2011, 2012, and 2013, claiming more than $800,000 in business expenses for each year.
According to the DOJ, those deductions allowed them to only pay about 2% tax on the $1.1 million the husband earned over 3 years.
The DOJ said that the couple claimed a number of personal purchases as business expenses including:
- Trips to Europe, Hawaii, and Cancun
- Wine racks and a personalized wine bottle in their wine cellar
- Patio furniture
- Automated tiki torches
- A California king bed
- Birthday party and baby shower expenses
- Home gym exercise flooring
“They purposely lied in order to fund their family’s lavish lifestyle when they should have just told the truth and paid their taxes like millions of other Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Talbert.
During the investigation, the couple claimed that their business records had been shredded or lost but a search of their home turned up tax records and receipts from relevant years question, the DOJ said.
According to the DOJ, the records were sometimes found “together with correspondence from the IRS related to the very same audit they were obstructing.”
Both the man and the woman were also convicted of impeding the investigation.
“Brian Beland, 39, was sentenced to 21 months in prison and must pay a $30,000 fine and Denae Beland, 40, was sentenced to five years of supervised release and must pay a $25,000 fine.” According to the Mountain Democrat.
.
The wife was sentenced to five years of supervised release and a $25,000 fine. The wife was also a licensed attorney but was suspended following her conviction and is not eligible to practice law in California.
—
Mr. Talbert came to the office in 2002 and began in the Narcotics and Violent Crime Unit where he prosecuted drug trafficking cases, then served as the Chief of Appeals and Training where he supervised the office’s appellate practice and trained incoming Criminal Division Assistant U.S. Attorneys.
