Accountant given 5 years for scams

An Orem accountant who bilked the government out of millions in taxes from money he garnered through phony investment schemes has been sentenced to five years in federal prison, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday.

Lanny R. White was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart to pay $5 million in restitution and spend three years on supervised probation following his release.

White was indicted in 2003 along with 10 others for promoting and selling a fraudulent trust scheme through six phony investment companies between 1993 and 2004. More than 300 clients were told that placing their assets into the trusts would reduce tax liabilities.

All of the 11 indicted — among them four attorneys, one accountant and a former IRS agent — have pleaded guilty to felony charges including wire and mail fraud.

In a plea agreement White said his actions led to the filing of more than 2,000 false and fraudulent income tax and trust tax returns. White also said he knowingly placed clients money in unsound investments that would never pay returns.

The loss to the government is estimated at between $7 million and $10 million.