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Gold investment promoter indicted on tax charges
By Ainslee S. Wittig/Arizona Range News
Cameron W. McEwen, 62, of British Columbia, Canada, was indicted last Wednesday, Sept. 16, by a federal grand jury on three counts of tax evasion and one count of filing a false tax return for his business in the Willcox area.
The indictment said that in July 1999, McEwen was the controlling partner in a venture under the name of Mineral Processing Laboratories, LLC (MLP). MLP acquired an option from AU Consolidated to mine gold from a tract of land on the Willcox Ranch near Willcox and in October 1999 formed the Arizona Mining Corporation, of which he was the sole owner. While MLP's business was "to develop a technology using chemical processes to that would extract microscopic particles of gold from the dirt and gravel located on the Willcox Ranch for sale to the public for a profit," AMC's business was to fund MLP's research and development of the gold extraction process.
McEwen claimed he had negative income for his ownership share of MLP on each year from 1999 through 2004, the indictment said. For AMC, he filed tax returns from 2000 through 2004 claiming he had no taxable income.
However, from 2000 through 2004, while a part-time resident of Tucson, McEwen promoted an investment opportunity with an entity called Great American Gold. Great American Gold funded the gold mining venture on the Willcox Ranch, which sought to develop the technology to extract gold from dirt and gravel.
The indictment said he held investment seminars in Australia and several in Asia, "promoting the Willcox Ranch venture as a good investment opportunity."
He also hosted tours for investors of the gold mining operation at the Willcox Ranch, the indictment said.
McEwen raised at least $5.3 million from investors around the world. The indictment alleges that McEwen directed investors to wire $3.9 million to Great American Gold's bank account in Nevada and $1.4 million to McEwen's several credit/debit card accounts maintained at the off-shore Leadenhall Bank in Nassau, the Bahamas.
The indictment also alleges that McEwen used a substantial portion of investor monies to pay for personal living and family expenses and that he used the off-shore bank accounts to conceal his income from the Internal Revenue Service.
The indictment alleges that McEwen failed to file an IRS individual income tax return for 2002 and 2004 and he filed a false tax return for 2003 where he claimed income of $59 and a tax due of $6. Finally, it is alleged that his additional taxable income for 2002 to 2004 was approximately $1,116,330 with an additional tax due of approximately $309,163.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service in Tucson. The prosecution was handled by Wallace H. Kleindienst and Gordon E. Davenport III, assistant U.S. attorneys, District of Arizona, Tucson.
For more information on the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.usdoi. gov/usao/a
The indictment said that in July 1999, McEwen was the controlling partner in a venture under the name of Mineral Processing Laboratories, LLC (MLP). MLP acquired an option from AU Consolidated to mine gold from a tract of land on the Willcox Ranch near Willcox and in October 1999 formed the Arizona Mining Corporation, of which he was the sole owner. While MLP's business was "to develop a technology using chemical processes to that would extract microscopic particles of gold from the dirt and gravel located on the Willcox Ranch for sale to the public for a profit," AMC's business was to fund MLP's research and development of the gold extraction process.
McEwen claimed he had negative income for his ownership share of MLP on each year from 1999 through 2004, the indictment said. For AMC, he filed tax returns from 2000 through 2004 claiming he had no taxable income.
However, from 2000 through 2004, while a part-time resident of Tucson, McEwen promoted an investment opportunity with an entity called Great American Gold. Great American Gold funded the gold mining venture on the Willcox Ranch, which sought to develop the technology to extract gold from dirt and gravel.
The indictment said he held investment seminars in Australia and several in Asia, "promoting the Willcox Ranch venture as a good investment opportunity."
He also hosted tours for investors of the gold mining operation at the Willcox Ranch, the indictment said.
McEwen raised at least $5.3 million from investors around the world. The indictment alleges that McEwen directed investors to wire $3.9 million to Great American Gold's bank account in Nevada and $1.4 million to McEwen's several credit/debit card accounts maintained at the off-shore Leadenhall Bank in Nassau, the Bahamas.
The indictment also alleges that McEwen used a substantial portion of investor monies to pay for personal living and family expenses and that he used the off-shore bank accounts to conceal his income from the Internal Revenue Service.
The indictment alleges that McEwen failed to file an IRS individual income tax return for 2002 and 2004 and he filed a false tax return for 2003 where he claimed income of $59 and a tax due of $6. Finally, it is alleged that his additional taxable income for 2002 to 2004 was approximately $1,116,330 with an additional tax due of approximately $309,163.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service in Tucson. The prosecution was handled by Wallace H. Kleindienst and Gordon E. Davenport III, assistant U.S. attorneys, District of Arizona, Tucson.
For more information on the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.usdoi. gov/usao/a
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Jack Brosnan wrote on Oct 31, 2009 1:58 AM:
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Jack Brosnan
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