Utah man, Nevada woman get prison terms for tax scheme

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A Utah man and a Nevada woman have been sentenced to federal prison for orchestrating illegal tax shelters.

U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell imposed a four-year sentence on Gerrit Timmerman III, of Midvale, with three years of probation after his release.

Campbell on Wednesday also sentenced Carol Jean Sing, of Henderson, Nev., to three years in prison and three years of probation for her part in the scheme.

Timmerman and Sing were convicted by a jury in February in federal court in Salt Lake City of telling clients they could avoid paying taxes by deploying a type of incorporation typically used by religious leaders.

Prosecutors say the pair marketed the concept online and helped their clients evade tax payments between 2004 and 2007 in a scheme the IRS has called one of the dirty dozen tax scams.