Cordova couple hit with tax evasion charges

Here's a story we're working on today about a Cordova couple charged with tax evasion. The indictment is attached.

A Cordova couple has been indicted on 12 federal charges of tax evasion, filing false income tax returns and failing to file tax returns, according to the U.S. attorney.

Prosecutors say James L. Jensen and Robin L. Jensen are accused of lying and cheating on their taxes to avoid paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Internal Revenue Service.

The couple owns a cabin-rental business called Bear’s Den Cabins, and James Jensen is a commercial fisherman, prosecutors said.

According to the indictment, James Jensen tried to evade paying his taxes between 1994 and 1997 by sending the Treasury Department a “fictitious financial instrument called a ‘Bill of Exchange.’ ” He is also accuses of creating a number of nominee entities to hide his income and assets.

The couple is accused of filing income tax returns with false deductions and expenses that resulted in them paying no taxes and not filing tax returns at all, up until 2007, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors say the Jensens could be facing up to a maximum of 21 years in prison if convicted.

Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.