A former Bangor-area man was sentenced to two years in prison for trying to evade just over $1 million in taxes.
Paul Archer, 46, who has lived throughout Greater Bangor, pleaded guilty to two felonies that were part of a “continued fraud,” Judge Stacey Neumann said. She sentenced Archer to two years in prison on Thursday in the U.S. District Court of Maine in Bangor.
He pleaded guilty to one count each of attempting to evade or defeat tax, and fraudulent transfer and concealment in bankruptcy in May.
“I think that this is a continued fraud, and I think Mr. Arthur continues to mitigate, to try to hide what he’s doing, how he’s doing it, and his assets,” Neumann said, adding that he did accept some responsibility by pleading guilty.
Archer has just over a year remaining on his sentence after serving some time in jail while the case was pending. He has to self-report to prison on Jan. 21, Neumann said.
Archer ran an online marketing business for software installation on computers, earning several million dollars from 2013 through 2015. An audit from the Internal Revenue Service showed Archer owed just over $1 million in taxes and fees, and in the years after he hid and transferred assets through LLCs to avoid paying the taxes.
After Archer declared bankruptcy he was “pleading poverty” but flew to Barcelona during the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Lizotte said Thursday. The federal bankruptcy court ran into “misrepresentation after misrepresentation after misrepresentation” from Archer as it tried to go through the case, Lizotte said.
Archer falsely claimed in the bankruptcy case that he only had less than $50,000 in assets and just $330 in cash and a bank account combined, court records say. Instead he had transferred money and assets to different accounts to fraudulently conceal his money to protect it from bankruptcy, including to accounts in the name of his father.
Archer had at least $300,000 in cryptocurrency and other assets at the time, court records show.
During the sentencing Archer’s attorney, David Bobrow, outlined abuse and emotional trauma Archer lived through as a child. He’s grown and learned how to connect with people in the time since he was criminally charged in November 2022, Archer said.
Archer said he isn’t sure if that rough childhood contributed to issues he has but that he’s working to be a better person. He spent 10 months in jail before being released on bail and he said those months helped him learn how to connect with people.
“The last 10 years have been tough,” Archer said. “I’m not quite the same person I was 10 years ago, pre the charges and everything that led me here.”
Four people, including Archer’s father, spoke in support of him. They talked about how he’s a good man who will give money to homeless people and cares about other people’s lives.
Archer’s criminal activity happened through his use of computers and electronics when he used platforms like Paypal and cryptocurrency exchanges to conceal money from bank accounts for his companies Max Tune Up, LLC and Stealth Kit, LLC.
Because of that, Lizotte requested that Archer’s computer use be supervised while he is on probation, as well as a ban on self-employment. Archer said his heart would be broken if he was prevented from working on his business ideas.
While Neumann said she understands Archer’s concerns, the crime was “absolutely related to the computer and the internet,” and having probation monitor his computer activity will not prohibit him from working.
During Archer’s three years on probation after his release from prison, he is prohibited from using a computer without supervision and from working for his father. The work restriction is because Archer has shown he has used his father to try to hide fraudulent activities, Neumann said.
One charge each of false bankruptcy statements under penalty of perjury, false bankruptcy testimony under oath and withholding recorded information from Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Archer must pay $55,949 in restitution, the bulk of it due to American Express.
