Renton man sentenced in "opt out" tax scheme

A former Renton man was sentenced to 70 months in prison Monday for his role in a $40 million business that advised people to "opt out" of paying federal income taxes.

David Struckman was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle along with two other co-founders of the Institute of Global Prosperity (IGP), which sold audiotapes and tickets to seminars advising people to get out of paying taxes by discontinuing use of Social Security numbers and hiding assets in offshore trusts.

U.S. District Judge Robert Takasugi also ordered Struckman to pay $2.9 million in restitution to the government, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

Prosecutors said Struckman had evaded taxes on millions of dollars of income earned through the business between 1999 and 2001.

Struckman's former business partners, IGP co-founders Daniel Andersen and Lorenzo Lamantia, testified against him and cooperated with the government after pleading guilty to tax crimes in 2004 and 2005.

Andersen, of Leominster, Mass., and Oxnard, Calif., was sentenced Monday to 30 months in prison. Lamantia, of Mountain Ranch, Calif., received a 27-month sentence.

Two other IGP principals who also cooperated with the government were sentenced to probation.

Struckman will receive credit for the 30 months he has served since his arrest in Panama in 2006.

His attorney could not be reached for comment Monday.