Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the United States

PITTSBURGH - A Maryland resident pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

Simon T. Tusha, 43, of Forest Hill, Maryland pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obstruct and impede the IRS before United States District Judge Terrance F. McVerry.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Tusha, who during the relevant time was employed by a large international corporation in order to enter into agreements with data centers in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, had taken kickback or bribe payments from a company called Trammell-Crow Netherlands (TCN) and from a company called Evolved IT in the United Kingdom. The payments were in connection with favorable treatment and advantageous agreements that TCN and Evolved IT received from Tusha’s employer that they would not have received in the absence of his intervention. The evidence presented to the Court showed that during the time period 2008 through 2010 Tusha received in excess of $2,700,000 in payments that he did not report on his income tax returns, leaving a tax due of more than $960,000.

Judge McVerry scheduled sentencing for Sept. 16, 2016. The law provides for a total sentence of not more than five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Tusha.