Owners Of San Diego Business Indicted For Tax Evasion
Company Sold Magazines/Services Door-To-Door
POSTED: 2:59 p.m. PDT September 13, 2003
UPDATED: 3:11 p.m. PDT September 13, 2003
SAN DIEGO -- A federal grand jury has indicted three people
who ran a San Diego-based business which had high school and
college-age workers sell magazines and services door-to-door.
Lonnie Divine, his wife, Yvonne Ruel, and his daughter Deanna
Devine are accused of conspiracy and tax evasion for allegedly
failing to pay taxes on more than $11 million they
earned over a five-year period.
U.S. Attorney Carol Lam says Divine
Enterprise operated under several different names, including AIDS
Prevention Institute; Babies Addicted to Drugs Foundation; Youth of
America Program; Heartline Foundation; and Divine World-Wide
Ministries.
Prosecutors say workers across the United States went
door-to-door to sell magazine subscriptions, long-distance
telephone service, and travel services.
The defendants allegedly
hid profits in an offshore bank account and used proceeds to pay
Lonnie Divine's accounts at casinos in Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas.
Copyright 2003 by TheSanDiegoChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



