A Colleyville man faces up to five years in prison and a $1 million fine for trying to conceal millions of dollars the day before he filed for bankruptcy, federal officials said.
Larry Lake, who owned and operated several business in the Grapevine area, was convicted Thursday of one count of bankruptcy fraud and three counts of tax evasion, said U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldana of the North District of Texas.Lake, whose age was not available, could not be reached for comment. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine for each of four counts on which the jury found him guilty, federal officials said. A sentencing date has not been set.The scheme apparently occurred over several years, federal officials told jurors.A day before Lake filed for bankruptcy in November 2004, he "knowingly and fraudulently" transferred more than $3 million from an E-trade account and a Compass bank account, federal officials said. He later transferred the funds through a series of bank deposits, wire transfers and cashier's checks and used a shell company to conceal the assets, officials said.From August 2006 to November 2009, Lake and his spouse agreed to structure hundreds of currency deposits into at least 13 bank accounts.The couple created at least two shell companies that were used to open up the accounts involved in the structuring scheme, which amounted to $9.3 million, federal officials said.According to other evidence, Lake also underreported income on his and his spouse's joint tax returns. The unreported income were derived from Lake's businesses, VIP Finance of Texas and Grapevine Drug Mart, where he is a part-owner.Yamil Berard, 817-390-7705Twitter: @yberardHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
