U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
District of New Hampshire
Federal Building
53 Pleasant Street, 4th Floor
Concord, New Hampshire 03301
603/225-1552
| MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Release March 17, 2008 |
Thomas P. Colantuono United States Attorney Bill Morse Assistant U.S. Attorney (603) 225-1552 |
FORMER FEDERAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER AND WIFE
PLEAD GUILTY TO TAX EVASION
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE - United States Attorney Tom Colantuono announced that today Anthony Carder, and his wife, Deborah Carder, pleaded guilty to charges of federal income tax evasion. At the time of the offenses, Mr. Carder worked as an Air Traffic Controller for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Carders lived in Manchester and Campton, New Hampshire, at the time of the crimes and now reside in Aiken, South Carolina, and Loudon, New Hampshire. Mr. Carder is 53 years old and Mrs. Carder is 59 years old.
As part of today’s plea hearing, the Carders admitted that they filed federal income tax returns that failed to include any of the substantial wages they each received during the tax years 2000 through 2006. During that period, Mr. Carder received a salary from the F.A.A., which ranged from approximately $110,000 in 2000 to approximately $130,000 in 2004, when he retired. In addition, since his retirement, Mr. Carder has received a taxable federal pension of more than $70,000 per year. From 2000 to 2003, Mrs. Carder, also earned significant annual wages. Nonetheless, the Carders filed tax returns for each tax from 2000 through at least 2006, all reporting that they had received no wages and no taxes when they knew that they had substantial income and substantial federal income tax liabilities.
According to statements made at today’s plea hearing, the Carders began to violate the tax laws after coming into contact with Steven Swan, at the time a self-described “pro se income tax consultant,” from Auburn, N.H. In March 2001, shortly after one of Carders attended a seminar at which Swan promoted the notion that the income tax laws were involuntary and unconstitutional, Mr. Carder filed with the F.A.A. an IRS Form W-2, falsely claiming that he was exempt from federal income tax withholding. Mrs. Carder also stopped her employer’s withholding at that time. The Carder’s filed their tax return for 2001 – described above – approximately one month later.
The Carders continued to file similar returns even after learning that the IRS was intending to assess a penalty against them for filing a tax return that was frivolous because it was based upon the theories promoted by Swan. They also continued to file such returns after learning that Swan was the subject of a criminal tax fraud investigation and prosecution. (Swan is presently serving a six year prison term based upon his later conviction on a variety of tax charges arising from his tax consultancy business.) Finally, according to statements made at today’s plea hearing, the Carders filed at least one more false tax return after learning that they themselves were the subjects of an IRS criminal tax probe based upon the previous tax returns they had filed on Swan’s advice.
The Carders face terms of imprisonment of up to five years on each of the four tax evasion charges. They also face the possibility of substantial criminal fines and will remain liable for any delinquent taxes and any interest and civil penalties thereon. The Carders’ pleas were taken in U.S. District Court in Concord by U.S. District Chief Judge Steven J. McAuliffe, who will sentence the defendants on June 24, 2008.
This matter was investigated by the Portsmouth office of the Division of Criminal Investigation of the Internal Revenue Service. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Morse.