Owner of Hawaii Car Dealerships and Chief Financial Officer Plead Guilty to Tax Crimes

Charles Alan Pflueger, owner of Pflueger Inc., Randall Kurata, the company’s chief financial officer, and Julie Kam, Pflueger’s executive assistant, pleaded guilty to filing false federal income tax returns before U.S. District Court Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi in Honolulu, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

 According to the indictment and other documents filed in Honolulu federal court, Charles Alan Pflueger, Randall Kurata, Julie Kam and others caused Pflueger Inc. to pay the personal expenses of Charles Alan Pflueger and others. The three defendants then caused Pflueger Inc. to improperly deduct the personal expenses as business expenses on Pflueger Inc.’s corporate tax returns. Pflueger caused another of his companies, Pacific Auto Distributors LLC, to pay additional personal expenses, and he did not report those payments as income on his personal tax returns.

 Pflueger pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false individual federal income tax return for tax year 2005. Kam also pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false individual federal income tax return for tax year 2005 because she failed to report as income personal expenses that Pacific Auto Distributors LLC paid on her behalf.

 Kurata pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false corporate federal income tax return for Pflueger Inc. for tax year 2003. Kurata admitted that from 2003 through at least 2005, he knew that Pflueger Inc. was paying for various individuals’ personal expenses, including Pflueger’s.  Kurata further admitted that during 2003 he personally signed checks from Pflueger Inc. that paid individuals’ personal expenses.   Kurata filed Pflueger Inc.’s corporate tax return for 2003 knowing that it was false in that it improperly deducted as business expenses significant personal expenses of Pflueger.

 Pflueger and Kam’s sentencing is set for Jan. 31, 2013, and Kurata’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 20, 2012.

Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division thanked Special Agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie E. Osborne, Jr. and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Timothy J. Stockwell and Dennis R. Kihm, who prosecuted the case.