Sixth Aegis Company Principal Sentenced for His Part in Firm’s $60 Million Tax Fraud ConspiracyWASHINGTON - Edward B. Bartoli, a Clearwater resident and former attorney, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Norgle of Chicago, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Bartoli is the last of six defendants to be sentenced after they were convicted of various tax crimes in May 2008. Prior to his conviction, Bartoli was a founder of Aegis and its legal director. Bartoli and his co-defendants were found to have carried out a nearly decade-long scheme to market and sell sham domestic and foreign trusts through the Aegis Company to some 650 wealthy taxpayer clients. According to court documents and evidence introduced at trial, the tax fraud scheme used a network of promoters, sub-promoters, managers, attorneys and accountants and resulted in a $60 million dollar tax loss to the United States. Aegis, which is now defunct, was formerly based in Palos Hills, Ill.
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