New Hampshire man convicted of filing false tax returns in bookstore scheme

A New Hampshire man pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court for filing false tax returns as part of a book vendor scheme with the former bookstore director at Clarke University in Dubuque.

Thomas DeFelice, 38, pleaded to one count of conspiracy to file false tax returns. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.

According to the superseding information, DeFelice and former bookstore director, James Spaulding, 35, now of Longmont, Colo., formed a fictitious New Hampshire corporation called RVP Wholesale Books in 2011. Spaulding was in charge of ordering textbooks and other books for the student bookstore, and would submit invoices to the college for payment to book suppliers.

Spaulding, who was sentenced to four years in prison Monday, created and submitted fake invoices from RVP to Clark, which the college paid $300,000 for book payments that were never delivered, according to court documents.

During the hearing, DeFelice admitted to conspiring with Spaulding to file false tax returns in 2012 and 2013 as a result of the RVP sales.

According to court documents, Spaulding told DeFelice that he actually purchased books and delivered them to the college for sale. DeFelice prepared and filed tax returns for RVP and himself. Both men agreed to inflate the costs of the books sold on the RVP tax returns.

RVP reported $21,044 in taxable income for 2011 and reported a loss of $9,363 for 2012, according to the plea agreement. There were no real costs of books sold or any other legitimate deductions.

On their personal tax returns, DeFelice and Spaulding reported taxable partnership income from RVP of $10,522 for 2011 and a loss of $4,681 in 2012, according to the plea agreement. Their actual taxable income in 2011 and 2012 would have resulted in tax due of over $84,000.