Donald Stanley LaVigne, Tax and Bankruptcy Fraud, Michigan 2023

In a shocking case of deceit, a Michigan insurance salesman has been indicted for tax and bankruptcy fraud. Donald Stanley LaVigne, a resident of Lake Orion, Michigan, faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison on each of the false tax return charges, five years in prison on each of the bankruptcy fraud charges, and five years in prison on the false statement charge.

According to the indictment, LaVigne failed to report insurance commissions and other income on tax returns he filed with the IRS for the years 2013 through 2018. The indictment also alleges that LaVigne falsely claimed in letters he sent to the IRS that these commissions were not income to him.

Furthermore, the indictment alleges that when LaVigne filed for bankruptcy in 2018, he did not list the IRS as a creditor on the schedules attached to his bankruptcy petition even though he owed taxes to the IRS for the years 2008, 2009, and 2013 through 2015. On one document he filed in the bankruptcy case, LaVigne also allegedly understated his income for the years 2016 and 2017.

LaVigne is also charged with making a false statement to the Tax Division. After LaVigne was notified that he was the target of a federal grand jury investigation, LaVigne allegedly sent a letter to the Tax Division in which he falsely claimed that his bankruptcy attorney had reviewed his 2017 income tax return and advised him that it was “correct and complete.” In fact, the indictment alleges that his bankruptcy attorney neither reviewed LaVigne’s 2017 income tax return nor advised him that it was correct and complete.

The case is being investigated by the IRS-Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by the Tax Division. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg made the announcement.

It is essential to note that an indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

LaVigne faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties if convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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