A former registered broker has been convicted of evading millions of dollars in income taxes and using the proceeds to pay for his lavish lifestyle, reports ThinkAdvisor.
65-year-old James Millegan of McMinnville, Oregon was found guilty recently by a federal jury of one count of tax evasion following a two week trial.
According to the Justice Department, Millegan evaded paying $2.5 million in income taxes from 2009 to 2016 by hiding his income in multiple bank accounts and submitting false statements to the Internal Revenue Service.
Millegan owned and operated J.W. Millegan, Inc., a commission-based investment advisory business serving clients in the Portland and Salem, Oregon metropolitan areas. Prosecutors said Millegan filed tax returns each year reflecting his true income, sometimes over $1 million, and the taxes owed on that income, ranging from $125,000 to $350,000. Despite these returns, Millegan often failed to pay the IRS.
According to the charges, he used the money from the unpaid taxes on prolific personal spending, including two multi-million dollar homes in Oregon, Rolls Royce and Bentley automobiles, equestrian expenses , and an attempt to establish a world-class equestrian competition center and resort. Millegan also bought a classic 1938 Rolls Royce touring car, spent $800,000 restoring it, and showed it in premier car shows in the U.S., Great Britain, and Europe.
The Justice Department said Millegan hid his income from the IRS by transferring it to six bank accounts that he controlled, including the account of his deceased mother’s trust, and submitting false financial statements.
Millegan will be sentenced for tax evasion on April 3, 2023 and could receive up to five years in federal prison. His attorney said they will appeal the jury’s verdict. Millegan is also scheduled to go on trial in March on a separate indictment on wire fraud charges.
The attorneys at Lewitas Hyman are uniquely qualified to represent individual investors in investment-related claims against financial professionals and their firms. We understand how financial professionals and their firms are supposed to operate through decades of experience working for the SEC and firms like Morgan Stanley and UBS Financial Services. If you have suffered investment losses as a result of misconduct by your financial professional or their firms, contact Lewitas Hyman at (888) 655-6002 or through our online contact form for a free consultation.
