A federal grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of New York returned an indictment on April 12, which was unsealed today, charging a former Brooklyn resident, who operated a precious metals brokerage firm with tax evasion and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to the indictment, Christopher Wolf operated Rothchild & Associates LLC, in Brooklyn, New York, and was in the business of selling precious metals to investors over the telephone. Although Wolf controlled all aspects of Rothchild’s operations, it was technically owned by a third party.
Wolf allegedly concealed the income he earned from Rothchild by causing his commissions to be paid to shell corporations and diverting the funds from those corporations to his own personal use. According to the indictment, Wolf filed a false 2010 individual income tax return that did not report the income he earned from selling precious metals and he failed to file a 2011 income tax return, despite earning brokerage commissions. The indictment further alleges that Wolf caused the shell corporations to file false 2010 and 2011 corporate tax returns that claimed deductions for phony expenses.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, Wolf faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for tax evasion and three years in prison for aiding and assisting the preparation or presentation of a false tax return.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg thanked special agents of IRS–Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Sean Green and Mark Kotila of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
