RENO, Nev. – A Reno lawyer was indicted by the federal grand jury today on charges that he and a business partner concealed and attempted to conceal the true source of funding of their business by structuring cash deposits in order to avoid IRS detection, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada.
“Federal laws require federally-insured financial institutions to report cash or money orders deposited or withdrawn in amounts of $10,000 or more to provide a means to detect fraud, evasion or other criminal activity,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “These transaction reporting laws assist law enforcement in investigations of a variety of criminal offenses and many other types of criminal activity.”
Delmar L. Hardy, 60, of Reno, is charged with one count of conspiracy to structure financial transactions, three counts of filing false tax returns, and one count of corruptly obstructing or impeding due administration of IRS laws. If convicted, he faces not more than five years in prison on the conspiracy charge, not more than three years in prison on each of the other charges, not more than $250,000 in fines per count, and criminal forfeiture in the amount of $574,105. Hardy will be scheduled for an arraignment in Reno in the near future.
According to the indictment and other public information, Hardy is a licensed attorney in Nevada and operates the Hardy Law Group. Hardy was business partners with Antonio Servidio in XYZ Real Estate, LLC. Servidio is charged and has pleaded guilty in a related case filed in U.S. District Court in Reno. The indictment alleges that from about July 2009 to January 2012, Hardy and Servidio concealed and attempted to conceal the true source of XYZ’s funds by purchasing structured money orders and by making structured deposits into XYZ bank accounts in order to avoid the currency transaction reporting requirements of financial institutions, and the record-keeping requirements of domestic financial institutions. Hardy also allegedly filed false tax returns for the years 2008, 2009, and 2010, which significantly understated his true income, including cash he received in his practice, and concealed Servidio’s contributions to, and interests in, XYZ Real Estate, LLC, in 2009 and 2010.
The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre and Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Keller.
An indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.