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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 

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CR. NO:

v.

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VIOLATION:

18 U.S.C. §1341

 

ARTHUR A. COIA

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Defendant

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INFORMATION

 

The United States Attorney charges that:

COUNT ONE

(18 U.S.C. §1341-Scheme to Defraud the State of Rhode Island:

and the Town of Barrington of Taxes Owed. on Automobiles)

Introduction

 

1.         At all times material to this Information the laws of

the State of Rhode Island imposed the following tax liabilities in
connection with the use and possession of automobiles:

 

            a          Title 44, Chapter 18, Section 20 of the General Laws
of Rhode Island imposed a use tax  ("use tax,") on the storage, use,
or other consumption in the State of Rhode Island. of any motor
vehicle, At all times material to this Information, the use tax
was seven percent of the retail sale price of the motor vehicle, or
of the retail dollar value of the vehicle, whichever was greater.

It was the practice of the Division of Motor Vehicles to impose the
the use tax on the reported sale price of a motor vehicle when the sale
was  from a licensed dealer to an individual.

 

            b.         At all times material to this Information, the term
storage" was defined in Title 44, Chapter 18, Section 9 of the



 

General Laws of Rhode Island as including "any keeping or retention

in this state, except for sale in the regular  course of business or

for subsequent use solely outside this state, of tangible personal

property purchased from a retailer." The term "use" was defined in

Title 44, Chapter 18, Section 10 as including "the exercise of any

right or power over tangible personal property incident to the

ownership of that property, except that. it. does not include the

sale of that property in the regular course of business".

 

            c.                 At all times material to this information, pursuant

to Title 31,Chapter 3, Section 4 of the General Laws of Rhode.

Island, the State of Rhode Island required proof that the use tax

described in paragraph 2(a) of this count had been paid before a

motor vehicle could be registered in the State of Rhode Island.

 

            d.         At all times material to this Information, pursuant

to title 44, Chapter 34, Section 1 of the General Laws of Rhode

Island, cities and towns of Rhode Island were authorized to impose

an annual excise tax on registered motor vehicles. Pursuant to

Title 44, Chapter 34, Section 4 of the General Laws of Rhode

Island, a vehicle would be taxed "in the town or city of permanent

abode of the owner" or in the town or city where the vehicle was

"customarily kept" if different from the town or city of permanent

abode of the owner. Each city and town was authorized to determine

its own excise tax rate. Pursuant to Title 44, Chapter 34, Section

2 of the General Laws of  Rhode Island, the excise tax was imposed

on the value of the vehicle, as determined by the regulations of

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the vehicle valuation commission.

            e          The excise tax rates in Barrington, Rhode Island

("Barrington" ) and Middletown, Rhode island ("Middletown") were as

follows for the following years:

 

Year

Barrington Rate
(per $1000)

Middletown Rate
(per $1000)

1992

$33.80

$13.00

1993

$33.80

$13.25

1994

$35.00

$14.60

1995

$35.00

$15.25

1996

$42.00

$16.05

 

            f.          The tax assessor of each city and town in Rhode

Island obtained each year from the Division of Motor Vehicles a

List of vehicles registered to residents of the assessor's

Respective cit or town, and assessed excise taxes on the basis of

that list.

 

            2.         At all times material to this Information, the permanent

abode of the defendant, Arthur A. Coia, and his wife was in

Barrington.

 

3.         At various times material to this Information, a close

personal friend of Coia's for at least 40 years was the president
and owner of a group of automobile businesses and dealerships that
operated under the name of Viking. These businesses were located
in Middletown and East Providence, Rhode Island, and were

incorporated under the laws of the State of Rhode Island.

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The Scheme to Defraud

 

4.         From in or about June, 1991,  through in or about

September, 1997, the exact date being unknown to the United States

Attorney, in the District of Rhode Island, the District of

Massachusetts, and elsewhere, the defendant,

ARTHUR A. COIA,

did knowingly and unlawfully devise a scheme and artifice to

defraud .state and local taxing authorities of tax revenue owed on

certain automobiles, as detailed below, by means of material false

and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.

 

             5.         The purpose of the scheme was for the defendant, ARTHUR

A. COIA, to acquire, own., possess, store, and use certain Ferraris,

as detailed in Paragraph 6 below, while evading certain taxes

imposed and authorized by the laws of the State of Rhode Island in

connection with the use and possession of those automobiles. As a

result of this scheme, the defendant, ARTHUR A. C0IA, evaded paying

$99,646.79 in taxes to state and local taxing authorities.

 

6.         It was part of the scheme, to defraud that the defendant

ARTHUR A, COIA, committed the following acts:

 

                        The 1991 Ferrari F-40

            a.         On or about July 30, 1991, the defendant, ARTHUR A.

C0IA, purchased a 1991 Ferrari  F-40 (" the F-40"), vehicle

Identification 2FFMN34A6M0089653, from Autohaus, a Ferrari

dealership located in Cohasset, Massachusetts, n Viking's name for

$450,000. In or about March, 1995,the defendant, ARTHUR A. COIA,

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purchased the F40 from Viking for $275,000, and obtained financing
through Viking from the Chase Manhattan Bank. Viking collected no

use tax on this transaction, and the defendant, ARTHUR A COIA,

paid no use tax to the State of Rhode Island in connection with his

use and storage of the F‑40. The use tax due and owing to

the State of Rhode Island for this transaction was 7% of $275,000,

or $19,250

 

The 1972 Ferrari Daytona

 

            b.        On or about February 28, 1990, the defendant, ARTHUR

A. COIA, purchased a 1972 Ferrari Daytona ("the Daytona" ) , vehicle

Identification number 16549, from Shellton Sports Cars in Fort

Lauderdale, Florida, for $1,050,000. On or about August 18,1993,

the defendant, ARTHUR A. COIA, caused the Daytona to be

fraudulently registered to Viking's address on East Main Road in

Middletown, in order to evade paying the higher excise tax rate in

Barrington. As COIA continued to reside in Barrington and the

Daytona was not garaged in Middletown the local excise tax on the

Vehicle was due to Barrington. However, the fraudulent

registration of the vehicle in Middletown caused it to be taxed at

the lower rate in Middletown, rather than in Barrington. In or

about February or March, 1994, Coia renewed the registration on the

Daytona, again at Viking's address on East Main Road in Middletown.

Accordingly, the Daytona continued to be taxed by Middletown,

Rather, than by Barrington, through the 19996 tax year. In total,

the defendant, ARTHUR A, COIA, defrauded the Town of Barrington of

 

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$57,865.01 in taxes in connection with his ownership of the

Daytona.

 

                        The 1993 Ferrari. 365 GTB

            c.         In or about August 1993, the defendant, ARTHUR A

COIA, purchased a 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB4 ("the 365 GTB"), vehicle

Identification number 365GTD416943, from Ferrari of Los Gatos, in

Los Gatos, California, for $215,000. On or about September 10,

1993, the defendant, ARTHUR A COIA used a fraudulent invoice from

Viking for $2,160 to register the vehicle without paying the full

use tax of $15,050 due to the state of Rhode Island. Coia was able

to register the vehicle in Rhode Island while paying a use tax of

only seven percent of @2,160 or 4151.20

 

            d          The defendant, ARTHUR A. COIA, also caused the365

GTB to be fraudulently registered to Viking's address on East Main Road

in Middletown, again in order to evade paying the higher

excise tax rate in Barrington. As Coia continued to reside in

Barrington and the 365 GTB was not garaged in Middletown, the local

excise tax on the vehicle was due to Barrington. However, the

fraudulent registration of the vehicle in Middletown caused it to

taxed at the lower rate in Middletown, rather than in

barrington. In or about February, 1994, Coia renewed the

registration on the 365 GT8, again at Viking's address on East Main

Road in Middletown. Accordingly, the 365 GTB continued to be taxed

by Middletown, rather than by Barrington, through the 1994 tax

year, after which the vehicle's registration was changed back to

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the Coias' Barrington address and taxes were thereafter paid to

Barrington. In total, the defendant, ARTHUR A. C0IA, defrauded the

Town of Barrington of $7, 632.98 in taxes in connection with his

ownership of the 355 GTB.

 

            7.           On an unknown date in August19995, in the District of

Rhode Island, the District of Massachusetts, and elsewhere, the defendant,

ARTHUR A. COIA,

for the purpose of executing the aforesaid scheme and artifice to

defraud state and local taxing authorities of tax revenues owed on

certain automobiles by means of material false and fraudulent

pretenses, representations, and promises, did knowingly and

willfully cause a tax bill from the Town of Barrington for tax year

1994 to be   placed in a post office and other authorized depository

for mail matter to be sent and delivered to COIA's residenco in

Barrington by the Postal Service by mail according to the

directions thereon.

 

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section

1341.

 

______________

ALEX WHITING

ERNEST S. DINISCO

Assistant U.S. Attorneys

District of Massachusetts

 

January 27 2000

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