A Washington state man set up a "bank" in his
suburban home for folks who specifically wanted to evade taxes.
That’s the charge against Robert Arant, whom IRS investigators say took in at least $28 million from people throughout the United States who wanted accounts they could conceal from the tax agency. Or, as Arant reportedly advertised, his financial services were for those "who would rather not deal directly with the banking system."
According to news reports (such as this Associated Press story on the WTOP radio Web site), Arant pooled his customers’ money it in six accounts at Bank
of America, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo Bank. The IRS calls these arrangements "warehouse banks," and routinely takes down such operations. Examples of prosecution of these scams can be found in IRS releases on "Nonfiler Enforcement Investigations" for 2005 (a large-scale — 900 customers/$186 million — scheme in Portland, Ore.) and 2006 (involving infamous tax protester Irwin Schiff).
In this latest case, for a fee of $75 a year, Arant allegedly kept his clients’ identities secret and paid their bills from the commercial bank
accounts. He also collected account set-up fees, according to court records, as well as charged for wire transfers and debit cards that his clients could use to more easily access their money.
The agent in charge of the investigation told the media that she has been able to identify 13 people
who used Arant’s service while underreporting or not reporting their
incomes from 2002, when his "bank" opened, to 2005.
And just in case anyone needs some clarification on this matter, the photo above is a bank. The one below is a residential living room, not a bank.
Bank day on the ol’ blog: Guess my account fee issue with my real bank isn’t such a big deal in the grand scheme of things.
