Reggious Sanchester Bell, Theft and Tax Evasion, Alabama 2024

BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge handed down a harsh sentence to Reggious Sanchester Bell, a former accountant with a Huntsville non-profit corporation, for his role in defrauding the organization and the Internal Revenue Service.

Bell, 30, of Madison, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for stealing more than $1 million from the Huntsville Rehabilitation Foundation, which does business as Phoenix, and two counts of federal income tax evasion for underreporting his income and underpaying his taxes for 2011 and 2012.

U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre ordered Bell to pay $1.1 million in restitution to Phoenix, and to its insurers, $71,947 to Indemnity Insurance Co. and $75,000 to Hartford Underwriters Insurance Co. He also must pay $81,768 to the IRS.

Bell pleaded guilty to the charges in October. Prosecutors alleged that he stole more than $1 million in taxpayer funds from Phoenix, a non-profit company that contracts to provide jobs and counseling to people with disabilities.

“This defendant stole more than $1 million of taxpayer funds from a non-profit company that contracts to provide jobs and counseling to people with disabilities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Robert O. Posey. “He showed no regard for the harm he did the company he worked for or the people it served. He undercut a worthy mission so that he could spend money on personal indulgences, including gambling.”

According to court documents, Bell used his Phoenix credit card for personal expenses, including $95,228 to Best Buy, $21,969 to Louis Vuitton, $18,945 to American Airlines, and $23,823 to Southwest Airlines. He also established an accounting firm, called Bell-Pete Associates, and invoiced Phoenix for $58,133 in accounting services in 2011, and for $235,740 in 2012.

The IRS and FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell E. Penfield prosecuted. The FBI will continue to work side by side with its partners to bring individuals like Bell to justice, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Roger C. Stanton.

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