An Orem man has admitted failing to pay at least $550,000 in personal income tax between 1998 and 1999.

Roderick Prescott appeared in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Ore., on Tuesday to plead guilty to the charge of tax evasion, a week before he was to stand trial. Prescott is a former principal of National Trust Services in San Jose, Calif., and later in Selma, Ore.

According to a federal indictment, Prescott and a now-deceased business partner were involved in a Ponzi scheme in which proceeds were funneled to offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands. The two men used proceeds to purchase a nearly $3 million ranch in Oregon and the construction of two luxury log homes. Federal officials reported the men paid more than $328,000 to have solar panels installed and stockpiled frozen food in anticipation of an apocalypse in 2000. Another $1.1 million was used to purchase numerous vehicles and personal items.

Prescott is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 9 in Eugene. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, with a maximum fine of $250,000.

— Geoffrey Fattah