FORMER NFL PLAYER, TWO OTHERS FOUND GUILTY IN TAX FRAUD SCHEME

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Ex-Casino Owner, Nevada Businessman and Former National Football League Player Found Guilty in Massive Tax Fraud Scheme

A Las Vegas jury returned guilty verdicts yesterday against Alan Rodrigues, a former casino owner from Henderson, Nevada, Weston Coolidge, a former businessman from Las Vegas, and Joseph Prokop, a former National Football League punter from Upland, California, for conspiracy and fraud related to their promotion of a fraudulent tax product through the now-defunct National Audit Defense Network (NADN), the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.  The guilty verdicts came after a six week trial before U.S. District Court Judge Miranda Du in the District of Nevada.

All defendants were convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS and four counts of mail fraud.  Rodrigues and Coolidge were additionally convicted of 15 counts of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, while Prokop was convicted of 13 counts of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns.  During the conspiracy, Rodrigues was NADN’s general manager, Coolidge was NADN’s owner and president and Prokop was the national marketing director of Oryan Management and Financial Services.  Oryan, which was operated out of Upland, created the fraudulent tax product, called Tax Break 2000, and paid NADN a commission to sell Tax Break 2000.

“This jury verdict sends a message to those who promote fraudulent tax products like Tax Break 2000 – you do so at the risk of prosecution, prison time and substantial penalties,” said Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the Justice Department’s Tax Division.  “Prosecuting individuals who market fraudulent tax schemes has been and always will be our priority.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, NADN began selling Tax Break 2000 in early 2001.  Tax Break 2000 purported to be a shopping website that the defendants fraudulently said would allow customers to claim legitimate income tax credits and deductions by making the website accessible to the disabled.  The defendants chose the sale price for the modifications, $10,475, solely to maximize the fraudulent income tax credits and deductions.  To further the scheme, the defendants produced false IRS forms creating the appearance of fictitious commission income and prepared false tax returns on their customers’ behalf that improperly claimed the tax credits and deductions.  According to evidence presented at trial, the intended tax loss based on the purported tax benefits was approximately $100 million due to the scheme.

On April 13, 2004, the department’s Tax Division filed a complaint seeking to enjoin, among others, NADN, Rodrigues, Coolidge and Prokop from selling fraudulent tax schemes, including Tax Break 2000.  NADN ceased operations in May 2004, and in June 2004, a federal bankruptcy court in Las Vegas entered a permanent injunction against NADN.  Prokop was also enjoined in June 2004, after consenting to entry of a permanent injunction.  In April 2005, Rodrigues and Coolidge both consented to permanent injunctions.

The case was investigated by IRS - Criminal Investigation.  Trial Attorneys Timothy J. Stockwell and Katherine L. Wong of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case, with litigation assistance from Larry Garland and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.