United States Attorney Thomas Scott Woodward and John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, announced that two men were sentenced to prison today for their involvement in a complex tax fraud scheme concocted to avoid paying federal income taxes.

Lindsey Kent Springer, 44, a Kellyville businessman, and Oscar Amos Stilley, 46, an attorney from Fort Smith, Arkansas, were each sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot to 180 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons and remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal. Both men were found guilty in a jury trial last November of all counts with which they were charged in a Grand Jury Indictment returned in March 2009. The counts were Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Tax Evasion, and Springer was additionally charged with Failure to File Tax Returns. Neither Springer nor Stilley have filed an income tax return since the late 1980’s.

Springer used the name Bondage Breakers Ministry to solicit and receive money. His stated purpose for Bondage Breakers Ministry was “to get rid of the Internal Revenue Service.” Stilley, an attorney and tax advisor, assisted Springer’s tax evasion scheme through a variety of means. Stilley maintained an interest bearing account, called an Arkansas IOLTA Foundation Trust account, which lawyers use to deposit and hold client funds. The pair allegedly used the IOLTA account and various other devices such as cashier’s checks, check cashing services, money orders, cash and other means to conceal Springer’s actual income and avoid creating the usual records of financial institutions. Springer told IRS employees that all funds he receives are gifts and donations to his ministry, and that he does not have any income. He also stated he does not provide any services for payment. There were numerous transactions involving hundreds of thousands of dollars between Springer and Stilley that flowed through the IOLTA account, such as $166,000 paid out in August 2005 to purchase a motor home titled in the name of Springer and his wife, and a September 2005 payment of $25,813 to purchase a Lexus automobile titled in Springer’s name.

“This conviction serves as yet another reminder that individuals who break our nation’s tax laws face serious consequences," said Assistant Attorney General DiCicco. “Citizens who comply with our tax laws can be assured that the United States vigorously prosecutes those who choose to violate them.”

“The harsh sentences these individuals received should serve as a stern warning to others, who are on a similar path of criminal non-compliance with the tax laws,” said Andrea Whelan, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent-in-Charge of the Dallas Field Office.

U.S. Attorney Woodward added, “The investigators and prosecutors in this case worked diligently to uncover the illegal activities of Springer and Stilley, and they did an outstanding job of presenting the evidence which resulted in the convictions and sentencing of the defendants. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma will continue to vigorously prosecute flagrant offenders of the nation’s tax laws in an effort to make the system fair to all.”

The prosecution of the matter was handled by the Department of Justice Tax Division Trial Attorney Charles O’Reilly and Northern District of Oklahoma Senior Litigation Counsel, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Snoke. The investigation was undertaken by the Tulsa Office of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division.

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