Australian accountant indicted for part in multi-decade tax conspiracy
An Australian accountant and a film producer have been indicted by a federal grand jury for a multi-decade tax conspiracy to defraud the US.
The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5) has welcomed the indictment of a film producer and Australian accountant for their involvement in tax conspiracy spanning for multiple decades.
According to the indictment, film producer Nigel Sinclair and Australian accountant Anthony Stewart worked together in defrauding the US by concealing Sinclair’s income and assets offshore.
The indictment was heard by a federal grand jury on 13 September 2024 and said all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the US, the pair will face a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Sinclair will also face a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each filing a false tax return charge, a maximum penalty of five years for each false FBAR charge, as well as a maximum penalty of 20 years for the obstruction charge.
ATO Deputy Commissioner and Australian chief John Ford said the indictment and extradition demonstrate the ATO-led Serious Financial Crime Taskforce’s (SFCT) ongoing commitment to working with the J5.
“The collaboration between the SFCT and J5 alliance shapes and strengthens our operational, tactical and strategic response,” he said.
“The SFCT played a key role in this outcome through the provision to a variety of unique intelligence and investigation activities.”
The criminal activity conducted by the pair allegedly began in 2000 and spanned until 2020.
In 2000, Sinclair was the co-owner and co-founder of a film production company known as Intermedia in which he held half of his shares in a self-controlled Maltese nominee entity.
As Intermedia was listed on the foreign stock exchange, Sinclair caused his shares held by the Maltese company to be sold for $25 million.
Stewart aided Sinclair in hiding these proceeds by depositing them into nominee bank accounts in Switzerland, according to the indictment.
It was said these proceeds were used to fund Sinclair’s lifestyle that included private jet flights, the purchase of an $800,000 guitar, the start-up of a new production company, and the construction of an 8,000-square-foot mansion.
Stewart among others created fake documents to disguise the true ownership and source of these funds by using corporate entities.
In 2004, Sinclair, Stewart, and their other co-conspirators took extra steps to avoid detection by authorities by moving assets, destroying documents, and communicating via burner phones following the arrest of a co-conspirator in Australia.
In 2015, Sinclair allegedly made several false statements about his foreign assets and under-reported their value under the IRS’ streamlined domestic offshore procedures.
In addition to this, Sinclair failed to report his foreign bank account on Report of Foreign Bank Account and Financial Accounts that he filed with the US Treasury Department for 2016 or 2017.
The indictment heard that in 2020, Sinclair made one of his co-conspirators lie to authorities as part of a grand jury investigation and that he had induced over $5 million in tax loss to the Internal Revenue Service.
IRS criminal investigation head and US chief Guy Ficco said the partnership between the ATO and the J5 continues to “pay dividends” and this case is yet another example.
“These indictments are significant examples of the steps in which individuals will go to cover up greed and criminal activity,” Ficco said.
“Even after it become clear that a criminal investigation was looking into their alleged criminal activity, they took steps to cover tracks to ensure they could continue to reap the proceeds of that criminal activity.”
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