Related Federal Cases
Tampa Execs Indicted for Tax Scheme
Tampa, Florida – Two high-profile business executives have been indicted for promoting a brazen tax scheme that left the U.S. Treasury reeling.
Duane Crithfield (65) and Stephen Donaldson, Sr. (67) face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
According to the indictment, the duo, along with others, operated Foster & Dunhill, Offshore Trust Service, Fidelity Insurance Company (‘FIC’), and Citadel Insurance Company (‘CIC’) to promote, market, and implement a fraudulent offshore tax strategy known as the Business Protection Plan (‘BPP’).
The scheme, which ran from 2001 to at least March 2008, enabled Crithfield and Donaldson’s affluent clients to claim business expense deductions based on sham ‘insurance premium’ payments made to offshore entities FIC and CIC.
The ‘insurance premiums’ were not based on actual business risks, but rather on the client’s interest in reducing business income for tax purposes.
After obtaining the benefit of a tax deduction on the client’s corporate income tax return, the client would later receive approximately 83-85% of the premium back.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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