The former corporate counsel of Neways Inc. also was found guilty of conspiracy, as well as of corruptly impeding the due administration of tax laws.
Prosecutors said the three - Thomas E. Mower and his former wife, Leslie D. Mower, who were officers in the Salem-based company, and James Thompson, its lawyer from fall 1995 through summer 1997 - concealed more than $1 million in receipts received from Neways Australia and more than $3 million in commission income the couple received from U.S., Australian and Malaysian distributorships.
The Mowers, who divorced in July 2000, were accused of using the unreported income to buy assets, including 1,400 acres in Utah County's Hobble Creek Canyon and a warehouse in Salem used as the company's manufacturing facility.
Neways manufactures, markets and sells personal care and nutritional products in the United States and about two dozen foreign countries.
Sentencing by U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball is set for June 21. The maximum penalty for conspiracy and tax evasion is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine and three years and a $250,000 fine for impeding the IRS.
