Former North Carolinian Sentenced for Obstructing and Impeding the Internal Revenue Service

WASHINGTON – Maurice Goulet was sentenced today in Charlotte, N.C., by U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. to six months in prison for his conviction for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS), announced today. Goulet pleaded guilty on Feb. 7, 2011.

According to court documents, between at least June 1, 1999 and 2001, Goulet was involved with several cigarette businesses, including, Birdtown Enterprises, Consumer Direct Buyers Network LLC and Greenwood Ventures LLC. Beginning in or about 1999, he obtained and used a series of bogus entities to conduct the cigarette business and to divert and conceal his income and assets from the IRS. Between 1999 and 2001, none of these entities filed tax returns with the IRS.

Goulet further admitted that he took a variety of steps to further conceal his income and assets from the IRS for the purpose of obstructing and impeding the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws, including that he used these nominee entities to purchase assets, including two motor homes and a vehicle in nominee names and entities; he used false Employer Identification Numbers (EIN) on bank accounts; he caused a false lien to be placed on at least one asset; and he made false statements to a special agent with the IRS. Goulet also admitted that prior to 2005, the last personal income tax return, IRS Form 1040, that he filed with the IRS was in 1996.

In addition to the prison term, the court sentenced Goulet to six months of home confinement, one year supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $170,717.

This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Odulio of the Western District of North Carolina and Justice Department Tax Division Trial Attorney Caryn Finley.