Treasure Valley Woman Indicted on $9 Million Money Laundering Scheme

BOISE – In a shocking turn of events, a federal grand jury in Boise has returned a 42-page Superseding Indictment against Elaine Martin, 66, of Meridian, Idaho, charging her with making false statements, conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of over $9 million as the proceeds of the alleged crimes.

Martin was the president and majority stockholder of Marcon, Inc., a Treasure Valley construction company. The Superseding Indictment alleges that Martin took steps to lower her personal net worth, such as acquiring, holding and transferring assets into the names of nominees, in order to successfully apply for and be admitted into the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) Program. This program is designed to help economically and socially disadvantaged businesses compete in the marketplace.

The Superseding Indictment further alleges that Martin caused false and fraudulent tax returns to be filed for herself and Marcon, Inc., which did not report all of the income received by Martin or the company. These false returns were allegedly submitted in support of Marcon’s applications to the SBA 8(a) Program and DBE Programs for Idaho and Utah, along with allegedly false personal financial statements.

According to the Superseding Indictment, Martin caused the financial books and records for Marcon to be false by purposefully omitting, deleting, altering or mis-categorizing entries. The Superseding Indictment further alleges that Martin concealed her role or relationship in other business entities that dealt with Marcon, Inc.

The Superseding Indictment charges that Marcon received more than $2.5 million in government contracts based on the company’s fraudulently obtained SBA 8(a) status. The Superseding Indictment further alleges that Marcon received more than $6 million in government contracts based on the company’s fraudulently obtained DBE status in the states of Idaho and Utah.

Elaine Martin, 66, of Meridian, Idaho, is charged with four counts of making and subscribing a false tax return, two counts of conspiracy, five counts of wire fraud, one count of making a false statement, five counts of mail fraud, four counts of interstate transportation of property taken by fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, and one count of obstructing justice. A court date has not been set.

Darrell Swigert, 67, of Boise, Idaho, is charged with obstructing and conspiring to obstruct a federal criminal proceeding. Martin and Swigert are accused of working together to conceal Martin’s true net worth and fraudulently obtain government contracts.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice are working together to ensure that Martin and Swigert are held accountable for their alleged crimes.