Brooklyn Couple Indicted on Tax Charges

A federal grand jury in New Haven, Connecticut, returned an indictment charging John and Sandra Cote with conspiracy to defraud the IRS and four counts of tax evasion on December 18, 2012.

The Cotes, a married couple from Brooklyn, Connecticut, allegedly failed to file a timely or valid tax return since 1994. John Cote’s work as a consultant in the high technology welding industry generated income, which the couple concealed from the government.

According to the indictment, the Cotes prevented companies from filing Forms 1099 bearing John Cote’s Social Security Number with the IRS and caused these companies to pay his compensation to nominee bank accounts in Costa Rica, Antigua, and Sweden.

The couple also used a nominee entity, ‘Sandra Cote, Overseer of God’s Battery Ministry, and Her Successors, a Corporation Sole,’ to conceal income and assets from the IRS. In 2003, Sandra Cote conveyed their personal residence to this entity.

John Cote was arrested on January 10, 2013, and appeared in court in Miami. Sandra Cote was arrested on January 9, 2013, and appeared in court in Providence, Rhode Island.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted on all counts, the Cotes face a maximum potential sentence of 25 years in prison and fines of up to $1,250,000.

This case was investigated by special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind and Jeff McLellan of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

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