Washington (Dec. 9, 2002) -- Keith Anderson, 61, has been extradited from Costa Rica and is in U.S. custody. Anderson had been in custody in Costa Rica since Feb. 9, 2002, when he was arrested by Costa Rican authorities with the assistance of the Internal Revenue Service.
Anderson is the founder and leader of Anderson's Ark & Associates, a multi-national, membership-based organization that has allegedly assisted hundreds of its members in evading income taxes and laundering money. In Costa Rica, Anderson's Ark & Associates maintains a business center, a conference center, and several villas and guest facilities.
Anderson was flown from Costa Rica to Miami by U.S. Marshals and FBI agents. The Department of Justice will seek to have him ordered detained and transported in custody to either the Western District of Washington, where he is charged in a complaint with conspiracy to defraud the United States, or to the Eastern District of California, where he is charged in an indictment with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to complaints filed in the two districts, the organization prepared tax returns that claimed large tax deductions for fraudulent "net operating losses" and "consulting expenses." The funds were not spent as claimed, but instead were wired to Costa Rica so that clients could later withdraw them with a debit card. Additionally, Anderson is charged with moving funds through bank accounts in the name of shell companies in the United States, Costa Rica, and several European and Caribbean countries.
-- Electronic Accountant Newswire staff
