Craig Shaber, Tax Evasion, California 2000

Local Attorney Faces Justice for Tax Evasion

Craig Shaber, a practicing attorney from San Diego County, has pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion for the 2000 tax year.

According to the indictment, Shaber and his business partner, Steven Wright, an accountant who pleaded guilty to tax evasion in August 2009, engaged in a complex scheme to evade taxes. Between 1999 and 2002, they acquired control of numerous public shell companies, installing nominee officers and directors and submitting false registration statements and reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the National Association of Securities Dealers, now known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

The duo earned millions of dollars from the sale of these public shell companies, which they deposited into various bank accounts, including one in the name of Bonaventure Capital Ltd., and one of Shaber’s client trust bank accounts. In 2002, Shaber and Wright received $260,000 in cash from the sale of one of these companies.

Shaber and Wright then evaded taxes on the millions of dollars earned from the sale of the public shell companies by withdrawing the proceeds for their own personal benefit and concealing their receipt of the income. They disbursed these funds to various bank accounts in the names of nominee entities that they controlled and used accounts in the names of nominee entities to pay for personal expenses.

Shaber used the proceeds from the shell company scheme to purchase numerous luxury items, including his personal residence in Coronado, a McDonnell Douglas helicopter, a World-War-II-era Tigercat airplane, a Plymouth Prowler, a Porsche 996 Turbo and art work. Wright also purchased significant assets, including property in Poway, a condominium in Mammoth Lakes, a BMW X5 and art work.

Shaber’s sentencing is set for January 21, 2011, and Wright’s sentencing is scheduled for February 28, 2011. The cases are being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and are being prosecuted by Tax Division Trial Attorneys Christopher J. Maietta and Timothy J. Stockwell.

The Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the guilty plea today. More information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at www.usdoj.gov/tax/.

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