Man Ran Bank from Washington Home, IRS Not Pleased
May 2nd, 2007Woh! Do as we say, not as we do!
And, like I wrote in the post from earlier today, if you thought online anonymity was a tough nut to crack, try keeping your financial life private.
Via: Yahoo / AP:
A man operated a “warehouse bank” out of his suburban home, taking at least $28 million from people around the country who wanted a discrete bank account, according to court documents.
An IRS investigator said Robert Arant had hundreds of customers, many of whom apparently used his bank, Olympic Business Systems LLC, to conceal assets for the purpose of evading taxes.
On his now-defunct Web site, Arant advertised his services to those “who would rather not deal directly with the banking system,” court records said.
Arant took customers’ money — promising to keep their identities private — and pooled it in six accounts at Bank of America, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo Bank, IRS agent Susan Killingsworth said in court papers.
Arant would pay the customers’ bills from those commercial bank accounts, charging about $75 a year in fees for the service, plus fees for wire transfers and for initial account set-up, court record said. For $30, customers could buy debit cards to access their money more easily; otherwise, they could access it by check, money order or wire transfer, she said.
Reached by phone at his home Tuesday, Arant said he intended to represent himself in court, but declined to comment further.
“I’m not where I need to be as far as responding to the IRS at this point,” he said.
Good concept. No wonders the TPTB didn’t approve.