Real Estate Businessman Sentenced To Prison For Tax Fraud

WASHINGTON - A Cranston, Rhode Island, man was sentenced today to prison for tax fraud in the District of Rhode Island, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

John Fall was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell to serve 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release.  On Jan. 26, after a federal jury trial in Providence, Rhode Island, Fall was convicted of one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the IRS, one count of tax evasion and two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of false corporate tax returns.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Fall was a real estate consultant who bought, sold and brokered real estate.  Fall also participated in handling the financial affairs of his wife and her businesses, including her dental practice, Comfort Dental Inc., and Broad Street Investments.  Between 1999 and 2010, Fall used numerous nominee entities and business names to conceal his business and financial transactions.  Fall also concealed his transactions using multiple bank accounts, including commingled or “warehouse” bank accounts in at least six states, as well as the entities Comfort Dental and Broad Street Investments.  To further disguise business and financial transactions, Fall used aliases to conceal his ownership and control over his nominee entities.  Fall filed false federal income tax returns for 1998 and 1999, and failed to file tax returns for the tax years 2000 through 2010.  The IRS audited Fall for tax years 1998 through 2000, and assessed taxes due and owing totaling approximately $72,000. 

Fall also caused the filing of false tax returns on behalf of Comfort Dental for the years 2005 through 2007.  Fall caused his wife’s businesses to make payments to various entities that he controlled, which were falsely recorded on the corporate tax returns as deductible business expenses.  When Comfort Dental and Fall’s wife were audited by the IRS in late 2008, Fall attempted to obstruct the audit by attempting to obstruct his wife’s compliance with an IRS summons and by encouraging his wife’s accountant to not provide the IRS with information requested.  Instead, Fall provided false and fraudulent information and documentation to the IRS concerning the nature of the payments by Comfort Dental and Broad Street Investments to his various entities.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended the special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case.  Ciraolo also thanked Assistant Chief John Kane and Trial Attorney Jeffrey Bender of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Rhode Island for their substantial assistance.

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