Thomas Huling, Wire Fraud and Tax Evasion, Rhode Island 2022

A West Warwick man has been convicted of defrauding investors and tax evasion.

Thomas Huling, 58, orchestrated a decade-long Ponzi scheme that left some investors empty-handed and the government seeking tax payments due to the Internal Revenue Service.

Between 2008 and 2018, Huling raised approximately $14 million, and caused losses of more than $6 million to his victims.

Huling defrauded investors by promoting several investment projects, including high-yielding bond trading platforms; a car emissions reduction technology; and an online advertising and marketing company.

He solicited funds for these investments by representing, among other things, that the money would be used for the particular project he was promoting, and that the investments would achieve substantial returns with little or no risk within a short period of time.

When investors contacted Huling with concern about the status of their investments, Huling lulled them with false excuses and promises, and at other times avoided their calls.

Huling used money raised from new investors to pay off earlier investors, and created and used multiple shell companies; opened over 50 bank accounts; and engaged in convoluted financial transactions between various accounts before ultimately using the funds personally.

At the same time that Huling was defrauding his investors, he was also committing tax evasion.

Betweeen 2009 and April 2018, Huling reported no taxable income, paid no income taxes, and for certain years filed false and fraudulent individual and corporate income tax returns.

Huling used nominee bank accounts, and paid for personal expenses using cash and corporate debit cards.

He also manipulated the books and records of his companies to record sham loans, titled personal assets in the name of shell companies, and made false statements to IRS special agents as to his income, expenses, and business activities.

Huling is scheduled to be sentenced on December 19, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison for committing wire fraud, and five years in prison for committing tax evasion.

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