Three of six men charged with fraud in a tax-shelter scheme that deprived the government of $20 million have pleaded guilty in federal court in Salt Lake City.

Certified public accountants Stephen F. Petersen, Coalville, and Reed H. Barker, Littleton, Colo., as well as Graham R. Taylor, an attorney from Tiburon, Calif., pleaded guilty to tax fraud before U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell. Petersen also pleaded guilty to aiding in the preparation of a false tax return on behalf of a client, according to a statement from the U.S. Justice Department.

A trial began Monday for co-defendants Dennis B. Evanson, a Sandy attorney, Brent H. Metcalf, a Cottonwood accountant, and Wayne F. DeMeester, a Sammamish, Wash., investment broker.

The men were indicted in November 2005.

According to the indictment, $20 million in taxes were not paid as a result of the scheme. The defendants are accused of offsetting their clients' taxable incomes in multiple forms — including using false documents for fictitious currency transaction losses, false insurance expense deductions and bogus capital losses.

The scheme utilized offshore companies, offshore bank accounts and opinion letters that appeared to provide legal authority to the fraudulent transactions, the Justice Department said.

As part of the plea agreement, Petersen and Barker admitted that from 1996 to April 2005, they conspired with Evanson and others to conceal portions of their clients' incomes from the IRS and to create false deductions to reduce the income tax paid by clients. Petersen and Barker admitted they knew the deductions on the tax returns were false and fraudulent, the Justice Department said.

Petersen also admitted that he and Evanson were paid for their services, typically 30 percent of the tax evaded by the clients. The indictment estimated that Evanson and Petersen collected $4 million in fees.

The terms of the plea agreement require Petersen to forfeit $1 million in money and real property, the Justice Department said.

Taylor admitted that he devised, marketed and implemented the tax shelter, known as "The Hybrid." Taylor acknowledged that he prepared the tax opinion letters and used people in the Cayman Islands as nominees for clients and falsely disguised client money through fraudulent transfers.

Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller on Monday declined to comment on whether the clients who benefited from the tax shelter also would be charged.

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