One of the defendants in a $60 million trust tax scheme has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison.
William Cover, 72, was one of the managers at Aegis, a company that marketed and sold domestic and foreign trust packages to approximately 650 wealthy taxpayer clients to help them hide income from the IRS. Another leader in the scheme, Michael A. Vallone, was sentenced earlier this month to more than 18 years in prison (see
Cover was convicted of one count of tax conspiracy against the U.S., seven counts of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, 13 counts of aiding and assisting the preparation of false tax documents, and two counts of filing false personal tax returns. He was sentenced to 160 months’ imprisonment, according to IRS spokesperson Maria Suarez.
Judge Charles Norgle also ordered the forfeiture of Cover’s home and $4,125,000. In addition, Cover was ordered to pay upwards of $245,000 for the cost of prosecution. Cover will surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on Jan. 7, 2009.
Cover had been facing a sentence of between 210 and 262 months in prison, but his attorney, Gerald Collins, argued in a sentencing memorandum that Cover had “more than his share of ‘bad luck’ through the years” but had “always been able to pull himself up through education and hard work.” Cover’s reverses included two back-to-back corporate downsizings. Collins did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
