Weed chiropractor sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for bankruptcy fraudPublished: 2009-05-25 06:49:48Author: Siskiyou Daily News | April 28, 2009Acting
United States Attorney Lawrence G. Brown announced Monday that Thomas M. Klassy, 55 of Weed, was sentenced today
by United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr., to serve 135
months in federal prison.
On June 5, 2008, a jury found Klassy guilty of making false
declarations under penalty of perjury in a bankruptcy case,
fraudulently concealing property in a bankruptcy case, and 26 counts of
money laundering.
This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, with assistance from the
Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office and the
United States Trustee’s Office.
According to
Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Stegman and Russell Carlberg, who prosecuted the case, Judge
England,
in sentencing Klassy, found that his crime was sophisticated due to his
use of shell corporations to execute the fraud and money laundering.
Judge England also found that Klassy obstructed justice in the case, a
Department of Justice news release said.
The evidence introduced at trial showed the defendant committed
perjury in his bankruptcy proceedings and thereby concealed substantial
assets from the bankruptcy court. Among the false statements he made under oath were that he did not own an airplane, a pickup
truck, a one-third interest in a 220-acre ranch, $205,000 he received
for the sale of his chiropractic business, and two shell corporations
named Rose Ventures Inc. and Aromor Inc., which he used to hide much of
his assets.
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