Salt Lake City Man Gets 60 Months, $3M Bill

A Salt Lake City man was sentenced to 60 months in prison for a tax fraud scheme centered on a fraudulent trust scheme, the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service announced.

Edward Woodger had pleaded guilty for conspiring to defraud the United States and to commit mail and wire fraud in connection. U.A federal judge also ordered Woodger to pay restitution in the amount of $2,943,865, as well as serve three years of supervised release after his release from prison.

Woodger was just one of 11 individuals -- including four attorneys, a CPA and a former IRS revenue agent -- who promoted a trust scheme. All have pleaded guilty.

In his plea agreement, Woodger admitted that beginning in 1998, as a salesman of World Contractual Services, he promoted and sold a fraudulent trust scheme designed to evade federal income taxes. In seminars, promotional materials and opinion letters, the company misrepresented to customers that their tax liabilities could be lawfully reduced by placing businesses, homes, investments and other assets into a trust's name.

Woodger admitted that he and his co-conspirators caused the preparation of more than 2,000 false and fraudulent federal income tax returns that cost the federal Treasury between $2.5 million and $5 million. He also admitted that he and his co-conspirators misappropriated customers' funds, resulting in clients losing between another $2.5 million and $5 million

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