DoJ Sues Adviser for Tax Fraud Related to Sham Benefit Plans

The Justice Department announced that the civil injunction suit against William Alexander of Pasadena, California and his two companies – Retirement Plan Services Inc. and Lyons Pensions Inc. – alleges Alexander helps small business owners adopt sham pension plans. He allegedly falsely advises customers that they can claim significant deductions for purported contributions to these sham pension plans in order to reduce or eliminate their federal income taxes. The complaint also alleges that Alexander fraudulently re-characterizes his customers’ non-deductible personal expenses as purported deductible pension-plan contributions.  

In addition, the suit claims that Alexander advises his customers that they can re-characterize their salaries as pension plan contributions that he can refund to them through sham loans. According to the announcement, Alexander helps customers adopt pension plans that illegally exclude rank-and-file employees. The complaint cites a letter Alexander allegedly sent to one of his clients, a California physician, in which Alexander explains that the goal is to “exclude the employees from this rich pension plan that I use for the owner.”   

The complaint further alleges that Alexander tries to conceal his pension-plan scheme by purposely not filing required documents with the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor.  

The announcement said Alexander’s promotion of the pension plan and welfare-benefit tax fraud schemes have allegedly cost the government at least $30 million.