File photo by Josh Mitchell/River Mississippi News
Minn. man accused of lying to agents, evading IRS on $5 million stored in foreign bank accounts linked to adult website
By Editor Josh Mitchell
River Mississippi News
The Department of Justice unsealed today an indictment charging a tech entrepreneur formerly of Excelsior, Minn. with tax evasion, fraud and lying to criminal investigators.
Licensed CPA David V. Erickson from 2014 to 2018 allegedly engaged in a scheme to conceal from the IRS millions of dollars of income he earned overseas. Authorities allege Erickson falsely identified money as loans instead of income and owned and operated Halstead Bay Holdings (HBH), a Minnesota-based consulting company.
DOJ officials allege that HBH received payments from foreign companies partly owned by Erickson and that the firms provided marketing and payment processing systems for an adult content website.
“Erickson allegedly caused his foreign companies to transfer millions of dollars held offshore to bank accounts in the United States that he controlled,” a DOJ news release states. “He allegedly directed his bookkeeper and others to falsely characterize those payments as nontaxable loans in HBH’s accounting records. HBH’s purported debt allegedly grew to nearly $5 million by the end of 2018. Erickson allegedly used the funds for personal expenses, including the purchase of a $1.3 million home and a luxury vehicle.”
Erickson is also accused of giving false information to accountants, leading to the filing of false federal tax returns.
He faces years in prison if convicted.
