Leon Benzer, Tax Evasion, Nevada 2013

Las Vegas construction mogul Leon Benzer, 46, has been hit with a tax evasion indictment in Nevada, marking a new chapter in his ongoing saga of financial impropriety.

Benzer, a former owner of Silver Lining Construction, was charged in U.S. District Court in the District of Nevada with two counts of tax evasion. According to the indictment, Benzer failed to pay his personal tax liability of approximately $459,000 and his company's employment tax liability of approximately $687,000 and unemployment tax liability of approximately $18,000.

The indictment alleges that Benzer orchestrated a scheme to direct construction defect litigation and repairs at condominium complexes to a conspiring law firm and his construction company. This scheme resulted in Silver Lining Construction being awarded a contract worth over $7 million for work at the Vistana Homeowner’s Association (Vistana HOA) in Las Vegas.

Between March 2005 and January 2008, Benzer and his company received over $7 million from the Vistana HOA contract, including a wire transfer of over $1 million on Sept. 21, 2007, to a personal US Bank account that Benzer opened in August 2007. The indictment alleges that when Benzer filed certain IRS forms related to the offer-in-compromise process on Sept. 25, 2007, he failed to disclose this personal U.S. Bank account or the assets contained in it.

The maximum prison sentence for each count of tax evasion is five years in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000. The charges and allegations against Benzer are merely accusations, and he is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Chief Kathleen McGovern, Deputy Chief Charles La Bella and Trial Attorney Thomas B.W. Hall of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case is being investigated by IRS-CI, the FBI, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Criminal Intelligence Section.

This indictment brings the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force into play, as it was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/former-construction-company-owner-indicted-nevada-income-tax-evasion