PHILANTHROPIST CHARGED WITH FRAUD HAAS ACCUSED OF $20 MILLION TAX SCHEME.Byline: BRAD A. GREENBERG Staff Writer A San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. Valley-bred businessman whose company has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to local colleges and nonprofits was arrested Monday on suspicion of trying to defraud the federal government of more than $20 million in taxes. Gene Haas Gene Francis Haas (born November 12, 1952) is founder, president, and sole stockholder of Haas Automation, one of the world's leading CNC machine tool manufacturers. He also founded a NASCAR team. , owner of Oxnard-based Haas Automation, one of the world's largest manufacturers of computerized cutting machines, was charged with conspiracy, filing false tax returns and witness intimidation. ``Haas Automation was issuing checks for these false purchases, and the other companies were refunding the money,'' said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. ``This allowed Haas to write off expenses that the company did not incur.'' Haas' attorney could not be reached for comment. Also indicted INDICTED, practice. When a man is accused by a bill of indictment preferred by a grand jury, he is said to be indicted. were former general manager Denis Denis, king of Portugal: see Diniz. Dupuis and former salesman Robert Cable. ``It's all BS as far as I am concerned,'' Robert Murray, general manager of Haas Automation, said in an interview. ``The company grew fast and our accounting, I guess, didn't stay up with it,'' Murray said. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. all the details of the indictment they are talking about. But I do know Gene, and he is a good guy.'' Haas, 54, of Camarillo, grew up in the Valley and graduated from California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an . He founded Haas Automation in 1983 in Sun Valley. It began as a mom-and-pop manufacturer of rotary tables, which are inserted into larger machines and hold metal parts to be perforated, sliced and drilled at varying angles. The company had 500 employees with a payroll of $20 million when it left for Oxnard in 1996. It's grown to 1,000 workers and revenues of more than $500 million last year, Murray said, up from $170 million a decade ago. ``We are certain that, in the days ahead, the charges against Mr. Haas will be determined completely unfounded,'' Murray said in a statement. ``While these current circumstances are very frustrating for Mr. Haas, they will have no impact on the day-to-day or long-term operations.'' According to the indictment filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Haas orchestrated a plan to list $50 million in bogus expenses, which could be written off as business costs and save the company $20 million in taxes. This was carried out by the company paying millions in fake bills and having that money returned to bank accounts that weren't registered with Haas Automation, according to the indictment. This included $12 million in false expenses for a title company and Haas CNC Racing Haas CNC Racing is a NASCAR racing team based in Kannapolis, North Carolina which runs Chevrolets. The team is owned by Gene Haas and runs the Best Buy/Garmin #66, driven by Jeff Green, and the Yellow Transportation #70 driven by Johnny Sauter. , which has two NASCAR drivers. The U.S. attorney claimed it was an effort to recoup $8.9 million Haas lost in a patent-infringement lawsuit in 2000. The owner of Supermill, Inc., a Nevada company that allegedly issued Haas Automation fake bills, has agreed to plead guilty to tax evasion The process whereby a person, through commission of Fraud, unlawfully pays less tax than the law mandates. Tax evasion is a criminal offense under federal and state statutes. A person who is convicted is subject to a prison sentence, a fine, or both. . Former controller Ken Greene, of Simi Valley, pleaded guilty to filing a false tax document, according to the indictment. Haas was held without bail because of concerns he could fly his Cessna to China, where he has business connections, The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times reported. Haas' arrest came as a surprise to those who have benefitted from his company's financial growth. ``I'm a bit shocked by it,'' Stewart Prince, a CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge professor of mechanical engineering, said of Haas' arrest. ``I'm glad I live in a country where it is innocent until proven guilty.'' Haas Automation has donated to CSUN's engineering college; numerous area junior colleges, including Pierce and Valley; and engineering programs at about 20 universities nationwide. Prince, who does his research in the college's Gene Haas Machine Design and Manufacturing Lab, estimated that Haas Automation, its foundation and its owner have donated a quarter-million dollars to CSUN's College of Engineering and Computer Science. University spokesman John Chandler said donations were ``significantly less'' than $250,000, but that he could not specify the amount because of privacy. Dollar amounts aside, Haas' philanthropy has been crucial to budding engineers at CSUN, Prince said. ``We probably couldn't function as a mechanical engineering department in machine design and manufacturing areas without his contributions.'' Last Friday, the United Way of Ventura County honored Haas Automation with its Roy Pinkerton Award for donating more than $260,000. Employees contributed more than $130,000, which was met dollar-for-dollar by the owner and his foundation. ``Haas Automation has been at the very top of philanthropic leadership,'' said David M. Smith David M. Smith (November 10 1926 - May 20 1951) was a soldier in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on September 1, 1950. Medal of Honor citation Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. , president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of the United Way chapter. Staff Writer Eric Leach contributed to this report. brad.greenberg(at)dailynews.com (818)713-3634 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Gene Haas, owner of Oxnard-based Haas Automation, one of the world's largest manufacturers of computerized cutting machines, shown at Lowe's Motor Speedway Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly Charlotte Motor Speedway) is a speedway in Concord, North Carolina, north of Charlotte. It features a 1.5 mile long quad-oval track that seats 167,000 people, with room for 50,000 more spectators in the infield. in Concord, N.C., last month, was arrested on suspicion of tax fraud. Terry Renna/Associated Press |
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