January 14, 2003

OWNER OF CALIFORNIA DIETARY SUPPLEMENT COMPANY
ARRESTED AT FLORIDA HOME ON FEDERAL CHARGES
OF EVADING PAYMENT OF MILLIONS IN INCOME TAXES

GEORGIA ATTORNEY, CALIFORNIA C.P.A. ALSO NAMED IN TAX CONSPIRACIES

 The owner of a Marina Del Rey corporation that has marketed dietary supplements to senior citizens was arrested last night by federal agents on tax evasion charges.
 Almon Glenn Braswell, 59, was arrested at his Miami Beach, Florida residence by Special Agents with IRS-Criminal Investigation. Braswell, who is the sole shareholder of a number of affiliated corporations, including G.B. Data Systems, Inc. and Gero Vita International, Inc., was named in a 13-count indictment returned late last year by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. That indictment, which was unsealed when Braswell was arrested, charges him with engaging in several elaborate conspiracies to evade the payment of millions of dollars in corporate and personal income taxes.
 The indictment also charges attorney William E. Frantz, 64, of Marietta, Georgia, in five counts. Frantz and Braswell allegedly conspired to evade Braswell’s personal income tax obligations. The indictment alleges that this scheme resulted in an underpayment of Braswell’s income taxes of more than $9 million for the years 1994 through 1997.
 The third defendant in the indictment, Robert B. Miller, 45, a certified public accountant who resides in Canyon Country, California, is charged in three counts related to Gero Vita’s corporate income taxes. As a result of this scheme, Gero Vita failed to pay approximately $4.4 million in taxes during two fiscal years in the mid-1990s.
 The corporate income tax evasion was engineered through a false expense scheme, according to the indictment. Braswell allegedly used his ownership and control of a Bermuda corporation, Deleon Global Trading, Ltd., to create false expenses on Gero Vita’s books and records. Among other things, the indictment alleges that Miller created fictitious invoices that charged Gero Vita for “nutritional supplements” and “health care products” that Gero Vita had purportedly purchased from Deleon. In fact, Deleon did not supply any products to Gero Vita, nor did it conduct any business in Bermuda or elsewhere. The indictment alleges that the fictitious expense scheme was designed to make it appear that Deleon had sold nutritional supplements to Gero Vita so that Gero Vita’s tax liabilities could be fraudulently reduced by millions of dollars. In relation to this scheme, the indictment specifically alleges that Miller prepared a fraudulent Gero Vita corporate tax return in 1996 that included a false deduction of over $7 million based on the fabricated costs of goods purportedly purchased from Deleon.
   Braswell allegedly evaded the payment of personal income taxes by transferring millions of dollars from G.B. Data Systems to a bank account that Frantz’ law firm maintained in Atlanta and to offshore accounts that Braswell controlled. Frantz, who acted as Braswell’s personal tax preparer, failed to report the diverted funds as income on Braswell’s tax returns. In relation to the personal income tax evasion scheme, the indictment alleges that Braswell used approximately $3.5 million that had been deposited into a Deleon account in Bermuda to purchase a personal residence in Coconut Grove, Florida.
 Michael S. Kochmanski, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation
in the Los Angeles Field Office, stated: "The arrests and the charges filed
against Braswell, Miller and Frantz shows the extent to which unscrupulous
people will go to evade income taxes. Offshore bank accounts holding
millions of dollars will no longer be a safe haven for unreported income.
IRS-Criminal Investigation will vigorously pursue anyone who is involved in
tax evasion schemes."
 An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
 Braswell is expected to make his initial appearance in United States District Court in Miami this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. EST.
 If convicted of all 13 charges in the indictment, Braswell faces a maximum possible penalty of 51 years in federal prison.
 Frantz and Miller will be asked to surrender themselves to federal authorities to face the charges that have been filed in Los Angeles. If convicted of all charges against them, Frantz faces a maximum sentence of 23 years in prison, and Miller faces a maximum sentence of 13 years in prison
 This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.

 Release No. 03-006

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