On Oct. 22, 2014, in Boise, Idaho, Herminio Harro Sandoval, of Caldwell, Idaho, was sentenced to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In addition, Sandoval agreed to civilly forfeit real property, bank accounts, a vehicle, and U.S.currency and coins, totaling approximately $315,335. Sandoval also agreed to a tax assessment of at least $210,000. Sandoval pleaded guilty on Aug. 12, 2014 to conspiracy to attempt to evade and defeat tax. According to court documents, over the past two decades Sandoval owned and operated various nightclubs in Canyon County.Beginning in 1998 and continuing to 2012, Sandoval conspired to fail to report $750,000 in income. Sandoval derived much of his unreported income from illegal outdoor
On Oct. 22, 2014, in Great Falls, Montana, Gary Joseph Conti, of Three Forks, was sentenced to 60 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $1.7 million in restitution. Conti, a former Oklahoma State University professor, was convicted in March 2014 by a federal jury of bankruptcy fraud and convicted in May 2014 of 26 other felony crimes. According to court documents, Conti was part of a multi-million dollar tribal corruption and fraud case on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. He assisted Blackfeet Tribal officials Frances Onstad and Delyle “Shanny” Augare, and others, obtain millions of dollars in federal monies for a program for troubled and at risk Blackfeet youth called the Po’Ka Project. The federal money was provided based on fraudulent claims as to matching or “in-kind” contributions of third parties which made it appear that the project was becoming self-sufficient. Once the federal money was provided to the Po’Ka program, Onstad and Augare paid Conti $475,000 from August 2008 to August 2011. Conti then kicked-back $225,000 through a children’s charity bank account over which Augare and Onstad had control. An audit by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General found the projected loss due to fraud and mismanagement at $4.6 million out of the $9 million provided to the Po’Ka Project from 2005 to 2011.
On Oct. 22, 2014, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Dr. Michael N. Mangold was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Mangold pleaded guilty on May 22, 2014, to one count of tax evasion and one count of making false statements. According to court documents, Mangold was a medical doctor specializing in emergency medicine and urgent care who, since about 1993, had worked as a physician for various hospitals, emergency rooms and urgent care facilities. At times, he also worked as a physician in state and county correctional facilities. Mangold primarily earned income through a combination of employee wages and independent contractor payments. From 1997 through 2007,Mangold willfully concealed his income from the IRS and made false statements to the IRS. In total, Mangold owed approximately $191,577 in taxes based on his income and wages during the relevant calendar years plus interest. In addition, Mangold made materially false statements during the course of a civil lawsuit concerning his failure to repay federal student loan obligations. He submitted a false financial affidavit to government officials which contained false statements about the amount of income he earned as a doctor.