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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 |
Middletown Rate |
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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