Colorado Man Arrested in Ecuador for Income Tax Refund Scheme, Sentenced to Prison

Justice.gov – Sought More than $1 Million in Bogus Refunds; Funds Received Spent on Precious Metals and Coins, a Truck, Jewelry and Luxury Travel

A Loveland, Colorado businessman, who owned a delicatessen franchise in Fort Collins, Colorado, was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison today for conspiring to file fraudulent claims for tax refunds, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer for the District of Colorado.

According to documents filed with the court, Daryl Brent Giesking, conspired with his return preparer, Teresa Marty, the owner of Advanced Financial Services (AFS), a Placerville, California tax return preparation business, to claim fraudulent refunds. With Marty’s help, Giesking filed three individual tax returns claiming more than $1 million in refunds based on falsely reported income tax withholdings. As a result, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) paid out a $350,765 fraudulent refund to Giesking. Within months of receiving the refund, Giesking spent the funds on precious metals and coins, a truck, jewelry, luxury travel and sporting equipment. After discovering the refund should not have been paid, the IRS levied Giesking’s bank accounts and recovered approximately $40,503. Following the IRS’s levies, Giesking took steps to liquidate a number of his assets to include selling the truck he bought with the fraudulent proceeds and withdrawing all of the funds in his retirement account. He then relocated to Ecuador, where he was arrested in June 2016, on a warrant issued in this case.

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In addition to the term of prison imposed, Giesking was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $310,261.58. He was remanded into custody.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and Acting U.S. Attorney Troyer commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Erin S. Mellen and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth M. Harmon, who prosecuted the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the division’s website. READ RELATED STORY – ON THE DEFENDANT’S GOFUNDME ACCOUNT