Ousted Filipino congressman pleads guilty to tax evasion, fraud [Clinton donor Mark Jimenez]

Associated Press | August 1, 2003

[HAL9000]

MIAMI -- An ousted Filipino congressman pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of tax evasion and one count of election financing fraud.

Mark Jimenez, 56, agreed that he owes up to $1.5 million in income tax for 1995 and 1996 and will serve at least 21 months in prison. He will be sentenced at a later day, federal prosecutors said.

Jimenez was extradited in December to Miami, where he was charged with using money from his Miami company and a closely related one to reimburse employees for illegal donations to former President Bill Clinton and other Democrats.

Jimenez made about $41,500 in illegal campaign contributions and caused false information to be submitted to the Federal Election Commission, according to the Department of Justice.

The tax charges stem from a scheme in which Jimenez created an Uruguayan company designed solely to funnel $5 million out of the United States before taxes could be paid on the money, prosecutors said. The money was paid to the company, Kalisol, by Future Tech International, a firm where Jimenez was the former CEO and majority shareholder.

His extradition followed five years of court battles and political scandals.

Days before his departure, he filed a lawsuit accusing a Filipino justice minister and two others extorting $2 million from him so that he wouldn't have to testify against his former business partner and friend, ousted Filipino President Joseph Estrada.

Jimenez was unseated from the Filipino House of Representatives earlier this year after being declared ineligible for election because he was not a legal resident of the district he was supposed to represent.

A receptionist for Jimenez's Miami attorney, David S. Markus, said Friday that Markus was out of the office and would not return messages before Monday.

[Tamzee]

charged with using money from his Miami company and a closely related one to reimburse employees for illegal donations to former President Bill Clinton and other Democrats.

Anyone surprised by this? Anyone???? Didn't think so...

[hoosiermama]

Tax freud? Isn't that how they finally got AL Capone?

[.cnI redruM]

These are the same type of people who are still going around and griping that GWB stole election 2000.