LIHU‘E — A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted retired car dealer James Pflueger and others on charges related to tax fraud, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release. The indictment alleges that Hawai‘i residents Pflueger and his
LIHU‘E — A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted retired car dealer James Pflueger and others on charges related to tax fraud, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.
The indictment alleges that Hawai‘i residents Pflueger and his son Charles Alan Pflueger, Randall Kurata, Julie Ann Kam, and California resident Dennis Duban conspired to defraud the U.S. for the purpose of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service in its collection of taxes.
“Alan Pflueger is and always has been a person of great integrity. We’re deeply disturbed by the IRS’ conduct of the investigation and disappointed with the decision to prosecute; we will vigorously defend him,” Charles Alan Pflueger’s attorney David Scheper said in a statement.
Charles Alan Pflueger, identified as the owner of Pflueger Inc., James Pflueger and Kam are also charged with filing false federal individual tax returns for the past two to three years.
Kurata, Pflueger Inc. chief financial officer, is charged with filing a false federal corporate tax return on behalf of the company.
The grand jury also indicted James Pflueger and Duban in separate conspiracy to defraud the U.S. for the purpose of obstructing the IRS tax collection. This indictment stems from James Pflueger’s sale of a California property, from which proceeds were allegedly sent to a Swiss bank account.
James Pflueger was also charged with failing to disclose the existence of a foreign bank account.
Duban, a certified public accountant, was charged with aiding in the filing of false federal tax returns on behalf of Charles Alan Pflueger and James Pflueger.
“He is a proven businessperson who always acts in good faith, but he is not — and has never pretended to be — a tax accountant. For many years he has successfully worked with his tax consultants and believes in their work,” Scheper said of Charles Alan Pflueger.
As part of the charges involving the sale of the California property, James Pflueger and Duban allegedly set up a Cook Islands trust called the Vista Pacifica Trust. After creating the trust, they allegedly opened a Swiss bank account in the trust’s name, according to the DOJ press release.
The defendants could face up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines if convicted on the conspiracy charges. The false tax return charges could give them up to three years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
James Pflueger also faces imprisonment of up to five years and a fine up to $250,000 for the failure to report the foreign bank account.
“If these professionals made any mistakes, Alan is confident that they were unintentional and simply the product of human error, and not part of any criminal conspiracy. Moreover, we feel not only that we will win this case but are confident that at the end of the day the IRS will owe Alan a refund,” Scheper said.
James Pflueger has been making headlines over the last few years for other cases as well. The octogenarian former owner of car dealership Pflueger Inc. agreed in 2006 to pay a $7.5 million settlement for Clean Water Act violations on his Pila‘a property.
That same year Ka Loko Dam on his property breached, and millions of gallons of water came rushing down Kilauea, taking seven lives in the process. Some of the bodies were never recovered. The court case involving the seven counts of manslaughter — to which James Pflueger has pleaded not guilty — is ongoing.
Last January, almost four years after the Ka Loko Dam breach, the County of Kaua‘i agreed to pay $7.5 million for its portion of the $25.4 million global settlement of various wrongful death and property damage lawsuits stemming from the breach.
