Northern Virginia Couple Indicted for Conspiracy, Bank Fraud and Tax Evasion

WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., returned an indictment against a married couple from Fairfax Station, Va., for conspiracy, bank fraud and tax evasion, the Justice Department today announced.  

According to the indictment, Kevin and LuAnn Shaffer were co-owners of a Manassas, Va.,-based consulting business named Matrix-DSS.   From 2003 to 2006, the indictment alleges that the couple conspired to defraud four separate banks, including attempting to secure approximately $5.6 million from one bank for a home loan.   The Shaffers are accused of submitting false information to their lenders that overstated their assets and made other material misrepresentations, including inflated 401(k) account balances, false W-2 forms, false pay stubs and false wage information.

In addition, the couple are charged with four counts of tax evasion for allegedly failing to make an income tax return for the calendar years 2005 to 2007 and for understating their taxable income in 2004 by more than $380,000.

Finally, Kevin Shaffer is also accused of failing to account for and pay over to the IRS more than $200,000 in federal taxes that he withheld from the paychecks of Matrix DSS employees from July 1, 2006, to Jan. 31, 2008.

The 12-count indictment, which was unsealed today, was announced by John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice, Tax Division; U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia; and Rebecca A. Sparkman, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation’s Washington, D.C., Field Office.

The case is being investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Office and U.S. Secret Service. Trial Attorney Tracy L. Gostyla from the department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles F. Connolly from the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.