Tacoma, Washington trust promoter indicted for tax fraud

TACOMA, WASHINGTON (BNO NEWS) – A Washington woman was arrested for conspiracy, income tax evasion, and interfering with income tax laws, prosecutors said Monday.

Sharon D. Kukhahn, also known as Sharon Stephenson, 61, of Tacoma, Washington, promoted an abusive trust scheme designed to hide individual taxpayers’ income and assets from the IRS, selling trust packages to more than 400 individuals that conceal income and assets from the IRS. As a result, over $7,000,000 were in income taxes were not paid.

The indictment alleges that through Kukhahn‘s own use of the trust packages, she evaded paying income taxes in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.

In addition, Kukhahn allegedly engaged in a business that attempted to impede the efforts of the IRS to collect taxes owed by advising clients that they did not owe taxes by providing a false interpretation of tax laws, and provided a frivolous letter writing service for clients designed to thwart IRS efforts to collect taxes owed. She sold this scheme to more than 1,400 clients, thereby assisting them to cheat the U.S. out of more than $4 million in income taxes.

Kukhahn promoted the same type of abusive trust scheme that in 2006 sent her partner, David Carroll Stephenson, 54, to prison for eight years. He was also ordered to pay $8.5 million in restitution.

If convicted Kukhahn faces up to five years in prison for each count of tax evasion and for the conspiracy count. She also faces up to three years in prison for corrupt interference with Internal Revenue Laws. Each count carries a $250,000 fine.

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