A federal grand jury has indicted Michael M. Gilbert, a certified public accountant from San Rafael, California, on charges of filing false tax returns, mail fraud, and money laundering. The indictment alleges that Gilbert underreported income for his business, M.M. Gilbert & Company Inc., between 2017 and 2020.
The indictment claims that Gilbert solicited payments from clients for “tax strategies” and “donations,” which were paid to White Mountain Properties Inc., another entity he controlled. These payments were allegedly not reported as income on the company’s tax returns from 2017 to 2021. Instead of providing a tax benefit to his clients, Gilbert is accused of diverting these funds for personal use.
It is further alleged that between 2020 and 2021, Gilbert transferred over $5 million from White Mountain to himself without reporting it as income on his individual tax returns.
An indictment is an allegation of criminal activity; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If convicted, Gilbert could face up to 20 years in prison for each count of mail fraud, 10 years for each count of money laundering, and three years for each count of filing a false tax return. Sentencing would be determined by the court based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and federal statutes.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Oakland Field Office Special Agent in Charge Linda Nguyen.
Assistant United States Attorney Sara E. Henderson, with Marina Ponomarchuk’s assistance, along with Trial Attorneys Julia M. Rugg and Patrick Burns of the Tax Division are handling the prosecution following an investigation by IRS-CI.
