FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2003
FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE COLORADO DAILY NEWSPAPER INDICTED FOR WIRE FRAUD AND MAKING FALSE STATEMENTS ON FEDERAL TAX RETURNS
DENVER – John W. Suthers, United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, and James D. Vickery, Special Agent In Charge of the IRS-Criminal Investigation, Denver Field Office, today announced that MARK ALLEN BREESE, age 42, now of Dublin, Ohio, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver for wire fraud and making false statements in federal tax returns. BREESE is accused of fraudulently obtaining approximately $250,000 from the Colorado Daily Newspaper while he was Finance Director. He later became Chairman of the Board of the newspaper.
According to the indictment, BREESE withdrew money from the Colorado Daily Newspaper’s accounts for his own personal use without the knowledge of any other employees or owners of the paper. The defendant allegedly deposited money taken from the paper into personal accounts at the University of Colorado Federal Credit Union.
As Finance Director, BREESE had authority to sign checks written on Colorado Daily bank accounts without obtaining a second signature. As supervisor of the finance and accounting departments, BREESE allegedly had sole control of the paper’s bank accounts and internal accounting. As part of the scheme to defraud the paper, the defendant wrote checks, usually for more than $1,000, from the newspaper’s accounts payable either to himself or cash, and then altered the paper’s financial records. He also obtained checks that were recorded in the paper’s books as void, writing the check to either himself or cash. In total, BREESE allegedly used 95 of the newspaper’s checks to transfer approximately $250,000 to his accounts.
The indictment states that over $50,000 of the money was transferred to the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, some for offshore betting. Fraudulently obtained money was also used for personal travel expenses as well as entertainment and recreational expenses.
BREESE faces two counts of wire fraud and three counts of making false statements in a tax return. If convicted of the wire fraud charges, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine for each count. If convicted of the false statements in a tax return charge he faces up to three years in prison and/or a $100,000 fine for each count.
An arrest warrant has been issued for BREESE, who is not yet in custody.
“Today’s indictment reinforces the critical need for businesses to have periodic reviews of their accounting,” United States Attorney John Suthers said. “When one individual is in charge of all aspects of a company’s finances, the potential for fraud is considerably greater than when there are checks and balances in place,” Mr. Suthers said.
“Honest taxpayers deserve to know that tax criminals will be prosecuted,” said James D. Vickery, Special Agent In Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Denver Field Office.
The case was investigated by the Criminal Investigative Division of the Internal Revenue Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Kirsch.
These charges are only allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.
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