U.S. Justice Department Indicts 10 Persons Allegedly Involved in Anderson’s Ark Scheme

On December 1, 2002, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that a federal grand jury in Seattle has indicted ten persons connected with the Anderson’s Ark & Associates offshore tax shelter scheme, including conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The indictment alleges that Anderson’s Ark has helped approximately 2,000 clients with evading income taxes, filing false returns, and concealing taxable income. The indictment named as defendants, among others, Keith Anderson, the founder of the group who Costa Rica recently extradited to the U.S., and his brother Wayne Anderson, who is considered the deputy of the scheme. The indictment lists several alleged illegal schemes perpetrated by Anderson’s Ark entity to enable U.S. taxpayers to deduct payments to the partnerships as management and consultant services. In fact the taxpayers transferred the funds to a Costa Rican account and made them available to the clients though a debit card. When the indictments were issued, the two Andersons, Richard Marks, and Karolyn Grosnickle were already in federal custody. On December 10, 2002. Richard Grosnickle, Pamela and James Moran, Tara Lagrand, Gary Kuzel, and Lynden Bridges, also inductees, were arrested.