But federal prosecutors say Wade was a wealthy man who dodged paying his fair share of taxes.
On Monday, a U.S. District Court jury apparently agreed. After four hours of deliberations, jurors returned guilty verdicts against Wade on four counts of tax evasion and one count each of conspiracy to defraud the United States, bankruptcy fraud and making a false statement in a bankruptcy proceeding.
Wade faces up to five years on each count when he is sentenced June 6 by Judge Ted Stewart. His wife, Janet B. Wade, also was indicted last year in the case, but prosecutors agreed to a pretrial diversion, which means charges against her will be dropped if she meets certain conditions.
The Wades were accused of hiding ownership of the apartments by transferring them to sham entities, called unincorporated business organizations and funneling money to themselves through more than 40 bank accounts.
At trial, prosecutors argued the Wades owed more than $1.7 million on the $4.6 million in taxable income generated by the rental units between 1996 and 1999. But instead of paying the Internal Revenue Service, the two filed returns claiming a total income of just $23,806 from those years and allegedly spent the tax amount of $1.7 million on themselves.
Prosecutors said when Wade filed for bankruptcy he had more than $4 million, three houses, three boats and almost 20 cars.
Federal authorities warned Tuesday that they will prosecute tax cheats.
"Honest taxpayers deserve the assurance that those who wilfully dodge their tax obligations will be investigated and prosecuted," Erick Martinez, special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Utah, said in a written statement.
Stanley Wade was prosecuted in 1990 on charges of filing false returns in 1982 and 1983 and sentenced to two years in prison. By 2001, when he filed for bankruptcy, his tax liability had grown to $1.6 million.
The apartment complexes owned by Wade were Cherry Hill, 2210 E. 3300 South; Del Monico, 4388 Highland Drive; El Caliente, 4700 South and 800 East; Hillrise, 6895 S. 2300 East; La Parisienne, 261 S. 800 East; Palisades, 623 S. 600 East; and Shangrila, 4900 Highland Circle. He also owned a duplex at 1509 E. 3350 South.
pmanson@sltrib.com
