Fort Myers, FL - U.S. Attorney Robert E. O'Neill announces today that a federal jury found Peter Hesser (51, Port Charlotte) guilty of three counts of filing fraudulent tax returns and one count of tax evasion. Hesser was indicted on October 3, 2012.

According to testimony presented at trial, Hesser filed fraudulent documents with the Internal Revenue Service in which he claimed to be owed a refund for tax years 2005, 2006 and 2007, in the amount of $500,000. These documents were not legitimate and were prepared with the sole purpose of defrauding the government. Also, to avoid paying taxes, Hesser converted his assets into gold and silver, and hid his mortgage payments in a bogus land transfer. This pattern of deceit stretched over a decade, thereby allowing Hesser to evade the payment of taxes that had been assessed for tax years 2001, 2002 and 2003.

“To build faith in our nation’s tax system, honest taxpayers need to be reassured that everyone is paying what the law requires,” said James D. Robnett, IRS Criminal Investigation, Tampa Field Office. “As this verdict shows, there is no secret formula to eliminate your tax obligation. The IRS-Criminal Investigation division, together with the Department of Justice will investigate and prosecute those who violate our tax system.”

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Douglas Molloy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return to Top