Edward Michael Greer, Tax Evasion, California 2020

An Orange County man is scheduled to be arraigned today on a federal grand jury indictment alleging he committed tax evasion by deducting millions of dollars in gambling losses and other personal expenditures as business expenses.

Edward Michael Greer, of Newport Beach, is charged with four counts of tax evasion.

The indictment alleges that Greer, who owned an insurance salvage company, Greer & Kirby Co. Inc. based in La Mirada, used the company’s bank accounts to pay for personal expenses, including payments to bookmakers Wayne Joseph Nix and Ken Arsenian to cover sports gambling losses, and to purchase a 2021 Mercedes-Benz automobile.

The indictment further alleges that Greer concealed these personal payments in the company’s business records, and in many cases directed to payments to be recorded as business expenses to reduce the company’s income.

Nix and Arsenian previously pleaded guilty for their roles in operating an illegal sports gambling business and are expected to be sentenced in the coming months.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Greer faces a statutory maximum sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison for each count.

The IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jeff Mitchell of the Major Frauds Section and Trial Attorneys Julia Rugg and Mahana Weidler of the Tax Division are prosecuting this case.

Greer is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

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