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Car Dealers Indicted for Tax Fraud; Profession’s Shifty Reputation Remains Intact

Plus, one of the (alleged!) tax fraudsters is facing seven counts of manslaughter. Impressive.

James Pflueger, a landowner facing seven counts of manslaughter on Kauai for the deaths of seven people killed when the Kaloko dam broke in 2006, was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury for tax fraud.

Altogether, five defendants were charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. for the purpose of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service in its collection of taxes.


They include Pflueger’s son, Charles Alan Pflueger, who owns car dealership Pflueger Inc.; company chief financial officer Randall Ken Kurata; Charles Alan Pflueger’s executive assistant, Julie Ann Kam; and certified public accountant Dennis Lawrence Duban.

James Pflueger, 83, is the former owner of the company.

The Plfuegers are proven business people but they simply can’t be expected to have the first damn clue about these tax matters:

Dave Scheper, an attorney representing Charles Alan Pflueger, issued a statement denying any wrongdoing by his client and also vowed a vigorous defense.

“He is a proven businessperson who always acts in good faith, but he is not and has never pretended to be a tax accountant,” Scheper said.

So naturally, the blame is going straight to the CPA in this case, Dennis Duban, but not because he screwed over Pflueger & son and their sterling reputations but because he just plain sucks at preparing tax returns.

An attorney for Duban said he looks forward to arguing the case in court. “We are confident that after a jury hears all of the evidence, Dennis will be completely exonerated,” said attorney Michael Purpura.

This is one of those cases where it will take about five minutes of poking the accountant with a stick and he’ll flip.

Retired Car Dealer Indicted by Federal Grand Jury [WJTV]