Las Vegas Realtor Indicted for Tax and Bank Fraud

A federal grand jury for the District of Nevada has returned an indictment yesterday, charging a former Las Vegas, Nevada, realtor with tax evasion, corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the internal revenue laws, making a false statement to a bank and failure to file tax returns, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson for the District of Nevada.

According to the indictment, William Waller evaded over $500,000 in taxes owed for 2004 through 2009 and obstructed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by directing third parties to pay nominee entities for services Waller provided, and then using bank accounts in the names of those nominees to pay his personal expenses.  Waller also allegedly failed to timely file federal income tax returns for the years 2011 and 2012, despite having an obligation to do so. 

The indictment further charges Waller with making a false statement to a bank in order to obtain a loan modification by falsely representing that he had not worked in several years and had no source of income, when in fact he had been employed and received income.

If convicted, the defendant faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for making a false statement to a bank, five years in prison for tax evasion, three years in prison for obstruction of the internal revenue laws, and one year in prison on each failure to file a tax return count.  Waller also faces a period of supervised release, monetary penalties and restitution.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed.  A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Elieson commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Andrea Kafka and John Mulcahy, who are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.