Former NFL Player, Ex-Casino Owner, and Nevada Businessman Indicted in Massive Tax Fraud Scheme

A Las Vegas federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Alan Rodrigues, a former pit boss and casino owner from Henderson, Nev.; Weston Coolidge, a businessman from Las Vegas; and Joseph Prokop, a former National Football League punter from Upland, Calif., with a tax fraud scheme for their promotion of a fraudulent tax product through the now defunct National Audit Defense Network (NADN).

The indictment alleges that the defendants were involved in a massive tax fraud scheme that spanned from 2001 to 2004. During this time, they sold Tax Break 2000, a shopping Web site that the defendants fraudulently stated would allow customers to claim legitimate income tax credits and deductions under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Internal Revenue Code.

The indictment further alleges that the defendants caused NADN to sell Tax Break 2000 approximately 21,610 times to customers around the country. Throughout the scheme, Tax Break 2000 was also known as tb2000.com, shopn2000.com, and mallforall.com.

According to the indictment, Tax Break 2000 was an attempt to abuse a provision of the ADA that provides a “disabled access credit” to help offset necessary, reasonable expenditures made by eligible small businesses to comply with the ADA’s requirement that their facilities be accessible to disabled persons.

The indictment alleges that the defendants defrauded the United States and their customers in a number of ways, including creating Tax Break 2000 as a Web site that was not accessible to the disabled, falsely telling customers that purchasing the modifications entitled them to a lawful income tax credit and deduction, and choosing the sale price for the modifications, $10,475.00, solely to maximize the fraudulent income tax credits and deductions.

The indictment charges the defendants with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, 15 counts of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, and five counts of mail fraud. If convicted, the defendants could face significant prison time and fines.

The Justice Department’s Tax Division filed a complaint on April 13, 2004, seeking to enjoin NADN, Rodrigues, Coolidge, and Prokop from selling fraudulent tax schemes, including Tax Break 2000.

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