Grand Junction Man Sentenced to 38 Months in Federal Prison for Income Tax Evasion

DENVER—James G. Kreutzer, age 52, of Grand Junction, Colorado, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martinez to serve 38 months in federal prison for income tax evasion, United States Attorney John Walsh, IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Stephen Boyd, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Thomas P. Ravenelle announced. Following his prison sentence, Kreutzer was ordered to spend three years on supervised release. Judge Martinez also ordered him to pay $186,473 in restitution, as well as a $10,000 fine.

Kreutzer waived his right to be indicted by a federal grand jury on May 7, 2013, and was charged by information. According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, as well as the information, Kreutzer, through Village Nursery Inc. (his solely owned company) and various related entities he owned and/or controlled, engaged in real estate development and construction activities in Southwest Colorado. During the period of 2001 through 2008, Kreutzer devised a scheme to defraud lenders, which included financial institutions, companies, and other persons. Personally and through his companies, Kreutzer repeatedly sought and obtained new loans to service his prior loans, to pay his personal obligations and expenses, and to pay for his real estate purchases and construction activities. To obtain these loans, he routinely made materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises to financial institutions.

By mid-2008, Kreutzer was no longer able to obtain money through new loans or otherwise to pay previous lenders and others. In 2007 and 2008, Kreutzer’s personal expenses were reflected by the accountant he hired in the company’s general ledger as accounts receivable, which showed he took $1,132,917.46 from his company in 2007, none of which was reported as income on his 2007 tax return. In 2008 he took an additional $248,627.35, none of which was reported as income on his 2008 tax return. The personal expenses paid by the company in 2007 and 2008 included Kreutzer’s home mortgage payments for his two homes, his utility payments, his Mercedes Benz payments, his gambling expenses in Las Vegas, Nevada, and his jewelry purchases.

The accountant, over a number of years, told Kreutzer the money he took out of the company was income and he should report it on his personal income tax returns. Kreutzer stated to the accountant, in essence, do not put it on the return, I cannot pay it. Kreutzer paid no income tax to the IRS in 2007 and 2008 while the actual calculated amount due to the IRS was $186,473.

This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Todd Norvell and Tim Neff.