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Two Businessmen Charged with Tax Evasion
Urbana, IL - Jan Paul Miller, United States Attorney for the Central District
of Illinois, announced that T. David Ring, also known as David Ring, and
Paul E. Palmer, a/k/a Gene Palmer, were indicted today by a federal grand
jury in Springfield, Illinois. Public records indicate that Ring, age
52, 601 E. Washington Ave., Effingham, Illinois, and Palmer, age 38, 1620
Logan Street, Murphysboro, Illinois, were indicted on three charges of
willfully attempting to evade federal income taxes owed by Ring by filing
and aiding and abetting the filing of false tax returns for Ring with
the Internal Revenue Service. The three counts in the indictment cover
Ring's 1993, 1995 and 1996 tax returns.
The indictment charges that, together, Ring and Palmer caused Ring to
file false tax returns for the 1993, 1995 and 1996 tax years. These false
returns, the indictment alleges, began when Ring owned a business known
as J.M. Personnel. In 1993, Ring and Palmer established entities with
bank accounts in Champaign, Illinois, and used false identification numbers
for the bank accounts. Ring and Palmer referred to these entities as "trusts."
Ring and Palmer are charged with concealing the income of J.M. Personnel
by transferring funds into bank accounts controlled by Ring and into bank
accounts controlled by Palmer. The indictment alleges that Ring's 1993
1040 tax return failed to report approximately $571,650 in taxable income,
on which there was an income tax owed of approximately $214,655.
The indictment alleges that for the 1995 and 1996 tax years, Ring and
Palmer set up two entities, known as "trusts," with bank accounts
in Charleston, Illinois. Fictitious individuals had signature authority
over these accounts. For both the 1995 and 1996 calendar tax years, the
tax returns Ring filed for one of the "trusts" declared that
all of its income for the year had been distributed to an entity in Belmopan,
Belize. The indictment charges that for both the 1995 and the 1996 calendar
tax years, such a declaration was false.
For the 1995 calendar tax year, Ring and Palmer allegedly failed to report
Ring's taxable income of approximately $177,844, on which an income tax
of approximately $39,000 was owed. For the 1996 calendar tax year, Ring
and Palmer allegedly failed to report taxable income of approximately
$48,247, on which was owed an income tax of approximately $11,948.
If convicted, as to each count, Ring and Palmer could face a maximum possible
penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, the costs of prosecution,
and be ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Palmer is currently also under indictment for conspiracy to defraud the
Internal Revenue Service. Trial on those charges is scheduled for May
13, 2002, before U.S. District Judge Michael P. McCuskey in Urbana, Illinois.
Palmer's co-defendant in that case, Dwight D. Larson, pled guilty on January
8, 2002, to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Department of the Treasury,
Internal Revenue Service; filing a false income tax return; and perjury.
Sentencing for Larson is scheduled for June 7, 2002, in federal court
in Urbana.
The case was investigated by the Criminal Investigation Division of the
Internal Revenue Service.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hilary
W. Frooman and John J. Kaleba, trial attorney, Department of Justice Tax
Division.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is only a charge
and is not evidence of guilt. Under the law, each defendant is entitled
to a fair trial at which time it will be the burden of the government
to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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