Californian Convicted for Evading More Than $150,000 in Taxes

WASHINGTON – William H. Nurick was convicted of one count of attempted evasion of payment of individual income taxes for the tax year 1995 following a jury trial before U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer in Los Angeles, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

According to documentary evidence and testimony presented at trial, in May 2000 Nurick filed an amended 1995 individual income tax return admitting he had a liability of $106,542 and that he took affirmative acts to conceal his ownership and control of assets to deceive the IRS regarding his true ability to pay his balance due. The evidence proved that Nurick used various nominee entities to conceal his interest in and control over bank accounts and real and personal property.

According to trial testimony, in January 2001, Nurick transferred approximately $133,000 from an offshore bank account controlled by him in the name of NG Enterprises to a witness’s offshore bank account. Nurick then, in February 2001, asked the witness for a $140,000 “loan” which was secured by a deed of trust on real estate owned by Nurick in Fresno County, California.

The government’s evidence also proved that, in May 2001, Nurick submitted a false “Offer in Compromise” to the IRS offering to pay $10,000 as full payment for the taxes and interest owed on his then debt of $157,122 for 1995 taxes and interest. The evidence showed Nurick intentionally deceived the IRS by signing a false financial statement under penalties of perjury which included the following false information: that he had a personal net worth of approximately $17,800, a monthly income of $3,333 and monthly expenses of $3,315 (for a net income of $18 monthly), and business assets of only $1,000.

Nurick also failed to list a motor vehicle as an asset, a bank account in Costa Rica with a balance in excess of $200,000 on the day he signed the Offer in Compromise and falsely stated that the Genesis Fund distribution he reported on his 2000 Form 1040 was a “final disposition” when in fact he continued to receive substantial distributions from the Genesis Fund which he did not report to the IRS and which he could have used to pay his 1995 tax liability. According to evidence presented at trial, the Genesis Fund, also known as The Human Element (T.H.E.), was an investment fund which operated from approximately 1994 through 2002. The Genesis Fund literature described foreign currency trading as the principal activity of the fund. Distributions were made from the Genesis Fund during the time period 1994 through 2002. The distributions were not intended to be gifts, loans, or notes which were required to be paid back by the recipient.

The evidence at trial demonstrated that Nurick deliberately and systematically attempted to rid himself of assets between May 2000 and April 2001 in order to willfully evade payment of the balance owed to the IRS for his 1995 income taxes. The evidence proved that he received approximately $1.1 million in distributions from the Genesis Fund between 1995 and 2002, including substantial distributions received between May 2000 and April 2001 from which he could have easily paid the 1995 balance due and intentionally chose not to do so.

Nurick faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Judge Fisher scheduled Nurick’s sentencing for Dec. 12, 2011.