Executive admits filing more false tax returns, faces longer prison term

A Bensenville company's former chief financial officer who admitted in 2008 he filed a false federal tax return by not reporting embezzled income, was in federal court this week to answer to additional crimes prosecutors said they found.

Jeffrey Meyer, 50, of Lake Zurich, entered into an amended plea agreement with the additional offenses at a hearing Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Meyer faces the potential of a significantly longer prison term when he's sentenced Sept. 8.

Originally, Meyer admitted he filed a false income tax return in April 2001 by not reporting $173,902 he embezzled while chief financial officer of Cargo Inc. in Bensenville. Cargo suddenly closed in May 2002.

Federal prosecutors said Meyer stole from Cargo in 2000 and 2001. One way he did it was by issuing unauthorized payroll checks to himself and concealing the income by creating false W-2 forms at year's end, according to court papers.

After Meyer entered his negotiated guilty plea in February 2008, investigators found he didn't report income from his job as comptroller of BCI Aircraft Leasing Inc. in Chicago, and accounting work performed for Jason Hyatt.

Meyer's attorney, Robert Gevirtz of Northfield, declined to comment Friday.

Court documents show Meyer, a certified public accountant, failed to report $103,289 in income from BCI and Hyatt from 2004 through 2006. He was charged with filing false income tax returns for those three years, which became part of his amended plea deal.

Meyer was free on bond in the Cargo Inc. case when he submitted the false return in 2006, according to the amended plea agreement. His reported earnings that year were $110,341 instead of $148,499 because he omitted income from Hyatt and BCI.

"By filing a false return while on pretrial release, defendant (Meyer) has failed to demonstrate a recognition and affirmative acceptance of personal responsibility for his criminal conduct," the amended plea agreement states.

Under the original plea bargain, U.S. District Judge John Darrah could have sentenced Meyer within or below a guideline range of 18 to 20 months behind bars. That range more than doubled to 37 to 46 months in prison because of the extra charges.

In all, court documents state, Meyer failed to report at least $277,191 of income from tax years 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006.