Source: United States Department of Justice News
A federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Maryland, returned an indictment unsealed today charging a Maryland businessman with filing false income tax returns, theft of government funds, tax evasion, willful failure to file income tax returns and bank fraud.
According to the indictment, Orin Wayne Solomon of Glenn Dale, filed at least 15 false income tax returns between 2017 and 2022 on behalf of himself, his business and two trusts that he controlled. On these returns, Solomon allegedly sought nearly $65 million in refunds that he and his entities were not entitled to receive. After receiving one allegedly false trust tax return, the IRS issued a tax refund check for more than $10 million. Solomon allegedly used those funds to pay for cars, a house, silver coins and insurance policies.
The indictment further alleges that Solomon attempted to evade his income tax liabilities for numerous years between 2009 and 2021 by, among other means, using funds from a business bank account to pay personal expenses for himself, his wife and his children, registering a vehicle in the name of a trust and transferring his personal residence to another trust. The personal expenses that Solomon allegedly paid from his business bank account included tuition for his children, personal training sessions, medical and dental expenses and expenses relating to his personal residence and a property that his wife owned. From 2017 through 2021, Solomon also allegedly failed to file individual income tax returns and pay taxes on income generated by his business, Anjacor Marketing Inc. (Anjacor).
The indictment also charges that in 2020, Solomon applied for a loan on behalf of Anjacor under the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), an initiative authorized by Congress to provide financial assistance to businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of that application, Solomon allegedly provided a bank with false information about his company’s payroll, fraudulently causing the bank to extend a $229,012 PPP loan.
If convicted, Solomon faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on the bank fraud charge, 10 years in prison on the theft of government funds charge, five years in prison on each of the tax evasion charges, three years in prison on each of the false return charges, and one year in prison on each of the failure to file charges. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind and Jeffrey A. McLellan of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.