Mirabilis Tax Fraud and Bankruptcy Battle in Orlando Backyard
A company in Orlando, Mirabilis Ventures, Inc., pulled off one of the biggest payroll tax frauds in United States history. As a result of the scheme the company was forced to file bankruptcy in 2008. The battle is now being fought in federal court as to who will be recovering the lost money resulting from these schemes of CEO Frank Amodeo. Amodeo pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 22 years in prison. The case appears to be an interesting combination of federal criminal and bankruptcy law.
Prosecutors and the IRS have been attempting to get the company itself (as opposed to the CEO) to plead guilty to tax fraud, and these ages are fighting the receiver/trustee for this admission in an ultimate fight over who will be controlling the recovery of the fraudulently conveyed funds. Generally this would be an issue for bankruptcy courts to decide but there is a valid argument for the other agencies to have charge of the restitution aspects of this case. A careful analysis of the caselaw and arguments used on both sides is more than can be discussed here, but would prove interesting.
