Chip King Charged with Tax Fraud

Chip King Charged with Tax Fraud

Monday, 23 March 2015

The former president of a major chip manufacturing company could be jailed for up to ten years if charges of tax evasion are upheld in court.

John M. Kendall, the man who once ran Chipco has been charged and found guilty of withholding taxes and conspiracy to commit tax fraud over a five year period.

Between 2007 and 2012 it's believed that Kendall used company money to pay for business and personal expenses, including his membership fees to the local country club. Central to Kendall's alleged scam was the payment of employees "off the books" and in cash. The surplus of cash generated by not paying his employees through the company allowed him to use the cash for his personal gain.

However, this was also part of his undoing as six of the employees were charged with benefit fraud and tax evasion after they were caught claiming welfare and receiving money from Kendall. The six accused pleaded guilty to all charges and left Kendall having to answer some serious questions.

Since the trial took place Chipco has since closed down and $100,000 of the reported $165,000 in lost tax has been recovered by local authorities in Maine. Chipco has since transferred its assets into a new company, Game On Chip (GOC), which is the same company the Borgata sought help from after Christian Lusardi introduced 2 million fake chips into the Borgata Winter Poker Open in 2014.



Tags: Chipco, fraud