×

Father and son sentenced to federal prison on tax charges

Two Warren men have been sentenced to federal prison on tax and currency charges.

Randall Branch, 65, 2676 Jackson Ave., will spend 24 months in prison, a $25,000 fine and restitution of $420,117.40 while his son, John Branch, 45, 2661 Jackson Ave., was sentenced to one year in prison, a $25,000 fine and $377,643.74 in restitution, according to a statement obtained from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

United States District Judge David S. Cercone handed down the sentences on Monday at the Federal Courthouse in Erie.

According to federal court records, Randall Branch pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and willful failure to file a tax return last September.

On the same day, his son, John Branch, pled guilty to two counts of willful failure to file an income tax return.

All of the offenses are felonies.

According to a grand jury indictment in the matter, the two men are “father and son owners of a business engaged in the extraction and sale of oil and natural gas obtained from various wells” in Warren County with a combined gross income “in excess of $6,900,000.00” between 2006 and 2012.

The indictment explains that “the defendants Randall Branch and John Branch, stopped filing tax returns with the IRS, after 1997 and after 1993, respectively, and began to dispute their obligation to pay taxes and did challenge the authority of the IRS to assess and collect taxes”

They were specifically charged with failing to provide tax returns in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

The grand jury alleged that the two men structured “approximately $2,649,210.93 in currency transactions by requiring their business receipts from EOC (Edward Oil Company) to be issued in checks made out in amounts less than $10,000.00 and cashing those checks, regularly doing so with multiple checks at different (bank) branches… on the same day.”

Federal authorities allege that the action was taken “to avoid the currency transaction reporting requirements, in an effort to impede the function of the IRS to assess and collect taxes.”

Grand jury allegations also indicate that “John Branch used cash and business receipt checks to fund wire transfers for the purchase of approximately $484,367.00 of precious metals, further attempting to impede the function of the IRS….”

The indictment includes forfeiture allegations, seeking the forfeiture of $2,649,210.97 to be turned over to the government as “currency involved in the commission of such offense.”

According to the indictment memorandum, the tax return charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. The charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States carries a five year and $250,000 fine maximum penalty.

In the statement from the United States Attorney’s Office, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song “commended the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of the Branches.”

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today