Men Sentenced For Conspiring To Obstruct The IRS

     RENO, Nev. – Two men who were convicted by a federal jury in Reno of conspiring to obstruct the IRS, were sentenced today to terms of imprisonment, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Bret Ogilvie, 50, of Reno, Nev., was sentenced to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $315,286 in restitution.  Linwood Tracy, 73, of Fallon, Nev., was sentenced to nine months in prison and three years of supervised release.  They were each convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud, and Ogilvie was also convicted of one count of corrupt interference with tax administration and five counts of presenting false claims to the IRS.  U.S. District Court Judge Larry R. Hicks imposed the sentences.

"When criminals cheat the IRS, they steal from all taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “We hope that prosecutions like this one will deter others from impeding, obstructing and threatening the IRS in their collection work."

            According to the court records, from about Feb. 22 to Nov. 18, 2008, Ogilvie and Tracy conspired to impede and obstruct the IRS in their collection of income taxes by a number of means, including threatening to sue the IRS for $10 million if the IRS did not remove a tax lien on Ogilvie’s residence, by contacting businesses and telling them not to comply with IRS levies against Ogilvie, by setting up a corporation and transferring compensation that Ogilvie earned through his plumbing company to the corporate bank account in an attempt to evade taxes, by threatening to sue employees of the IRS, and by filing a frivolous lawsuit against IRS personnel in Washoe County.  Between Dec. 8 and Dec. 10, 2008, and on March 30, 2011, Ogilvie also presented false claims to the IRS for income tax refunds the tax years 2006 through 2010 totaling approximately $3.9 million.  Ogilvie made the claims by preparing and causing to be prepared an IRS form indicating he held a Power of Attorney for the Bret Ogilvie Trust. 

The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Rachow.

This case was handled in connection with the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.