'Charlatan' promoter barred from marketing fraudulent tax schemes

Daniel Andersen, a promoter serving time in prison, was permanently barred from marketing fraudulent tax schemes by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle. According to court papers filed by the Department of Justice, Mr. Andersen was a co-founder of the Institute of Global Prosperity, which earned more than $50 million in unreported income between 1996 and 2002 selling tax fraud schemes to approximately 44,000 customers. The institute sold audiotapes, CDs and tickets to offshore conferences “where other charlatans promoted, among other things, bogus trust packages to hide assets and fraudulent schemes that purported to eliminate one's obligation to pay federal income taxes,” the government stated in the motion for entry of default judgment to the court. The firm held a three-day, invitation-only seminar for top salesman at Jekyll Island, Ga., and charged customers $37,000. Global Prosperity customers were told that they could avoid paying income taxes by relinquishing their Social Security number, according to the court papers. Mr. Andersen is in federal prison in California in connection with his promotion of the Global Prosperity scheme, according to the Justice Department.