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Wife sentenced to probation for helping husband evade taxes
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Nov. 19, 2009 | 12:09 p.m.
Citing justice rather than sympathy, U.S. District Court Judge David Ezra sentenced Danille Cline Kahre on Wednesday morning to five years of probation for her role in helping hide the assets of her husband, Robert Kahre, from tax authorities.
Ezra also sentenced Alex Loglia, who had worked for Kahre as a researcher of liens, to slightly over two years in prison and $83,000 in restitution. He was convicted of evading taxes and filing a false return, but was acquitted of the conspiracy for which Robert Kahre and his sister Lori Kahre were convicted.
Workers at Robert Kahre's construction-related Las Vegas businesses were paid in gold and silver coins, with market values much higher than their facial denominations. Although most workers immediately exchanged the coins for regular paper currency, they were told they could calculate their income tax obligations by the coins' lower face value. No income taxes were withheld from the workers' pay. Kahre marketed his payroll service to 35 more local businesses. Lori Kahre did payroll for her brother. The jury affirmed the prosecution theory that up to $120 million in wages went untaxed for the years in question, roughly 1999 through 2003.
The judge ordered Danille Kahre's sentence to include six months of home confinement. But he postponed the start of electronic monitoring for six weeks, so she can visit Robert Kahre with their four children while he remains in the custody of North Las Vegas police, until the government identifies the prison where he will serve 15 years. Ezra also structured Danille Kahre's confinement so she can take the children to doctors and attend their school functions.
Robert Kahre's new wife was convicted of two felonies under the last name of Cline, but changed her last name on Saturday, when the two married in a home ceremony in St. George, Utah, where the family has been living. Her counts entailed fraud and obstruction for taking out a home mortgage in her name, on the strength of her income, which turned out be a household budget allotted to her monthly by Robert Kahre.
Ezra explained his reasoning as to Danille Kahre's light sentence. "Her husband took advantage of her, sadly" even though Robert Kahre did not have the "intent to put her in criminal liability." The judge noted that Danille Kahre, 38, has been with her husband, who is 10 years older, ever since her teen years, when she was "quite young and very susceptible to influence."
The judge also urged Danille Kahre to not let her children grow up with a "hatred for the government or people who participate in the government."
Loglia has been allowed to remain free on bond, pending an appeal, as was Lori Kahre, who was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison.
Loglia graduated from UNLV's law school this year and is currently a paralegal for defense lawyer Lisa Rasmussen, who co-represented Robert Kahre at trial. Ezra described Loglia's accomplishment of completing law school while under indictment and on trial as "astounding." But the judge also described him as "too clever by half."
Ezra said he was baffled by Loglia's choice to take "so much time and effort to avoid paying taxes when he wanted to be a lawyer." Loglia's lawyer, Joel Hansen, noted that his client made that choice before going to law school.
Ezra sentenced Loglia to pay about $83,000 restitution and Lori Kahre to pay about $32,000. The amounts represent their personal income tax liabilities. The judge sentenced Robert Kahre to pay $16 million in restitution, because he personally profited when he failed to turn over worker taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. Ezra did not sentence Danille Kahre to pay restitution. All four codefendants are expected to appeal their convictions.
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Mr. & Mrs. Kahre, children, family, and employees,
You did nothing wrong. How can I help?
did you see the other story?
http://www.lvrj.com/news/defendants-disorder-revealed-70353982.html#