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Trouble for #66 Cup/#00 Busch Team Owner: The owner of an Oxnard [CA]-based company that's donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to local colleges is under arrest for allegedly trying to bilk the government out of millions in taxes. Haas Automation owner and founder Gene Haas was arrested Monday on suspicion of conspiracy, filing false tax returns and witness intimidation. Federal prosecutors say Haas orchestrated a plan to list $50 million in bogus expenses that it could write off as business costs. The aim was to save the company $20 million in taxes. Haas Automation general manager Robert Murray says the charges are bogus. The company is one of the world's largest manufacturers of omputerized cutting machines.(CBS2.com/AP) AND Gene F. Haas, 54, of Camarillo, Calif., the owner of Haas Automation and other companies, was accused in a 52-page indictment of running a bogus invoicing scheme to create fake tax deductions. Mr. Haas was held without bail after his arraignment in Federal District Court in Los Angeles. In court papers asking that Mr. Haas be held until his trial, the Justice Department said that he could flee the country in his Cessna jet and head for China, where he has business interests. The Justice Department said China did not have a treaty allowing extradition of accused tax cheats. It called him a flight risk, saying he has few ties to the community, is single, has no children and faces about 20 years in prison if convicted. Haas Automation, in a statement, said that Mr. Haas was not guilty and that the tax issues "revolve around" the company's former chief financial officer, John Phillips. It said the indictment would have no effect on the business. Last month, Haas Automation won, by default, a lawsuit filed in Ventura County Superior Court accusing Mr. Phillips of cheating the company out of $27.5 million. The indictment also described two other invoicing schemes. One involved a NASCAR race team sponsored by Haas Automotive and the other a land title company. The indictment gave few details other than stating that all the money paid in those two schemes was funneled back to Mr. Haas, suggesting that he may have operated them without confederates.(New York Times)(6-20-2006)
Haas pleads not guilty: NASCAR [#66 Cup, #00 Busch] team owner Gene Haas pleaded not guilty to charges of tax fraud and witness intimidation Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Haas, who owns the Haas CNC Racing team with Nextel Cup driver Jeff Green and Busch Series driver Johnny Sauter, is accused of orchestrating a scheme, through the Haas Automation business he operates, that created approximately $50 million in bogus expenses to avoid paying more than $20 million in income taxes. "We know this is going to be a long fight, but we feel that the government has been overzealous in pursuing this case," said Haas attorney Kenneth Barish in a statement last Friday when Haas was released on bail. "Mr. Haas looks forward to going home and going back to work running Haas Automation and his other businesses. "But more than anything else he wants to prove that he is innocent." The company says the tax issues revolve around a former employee and that the charges will not impact Haas' businesses. The Haas CNC Racing team also plans to continue business as usual.(SceneDaily.com)(6-27-2006)