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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Man Sentenced For Not Reporting Stock Profits

A retired Spokane contractor will serve two years in federal prison for failing to report more than $1 million in stock profits.

Richard E. Peters, who was sentenced Monday, also must pay $199,090 in restitution and $7,259 for the costs of prosecution.

U.S. District Court Judge Frem Nielsen ordered Peters to serve one year of supervised parole after he is released from prison.

Peters, 65, will surrender at a federal penitentiary designated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

He was convicted by a jury in early February of filing false income tax returns for five years, 1987 through 1991.

Peters, who was indicted last August, paid $200 in federal income taxes in 1987, but no taxes during the other four years.

In 1989, Peters told the Internal Revenue Service that his adjusted gross income was $4,767.

But in that same year, he collected $283,522 from sales of stock in Vancouver, British Columbia, trial testimony revealed.

In 1990 and 1991, Peters reported negative incomes, while his combined income from stocks sales those two years was $322,209.

Peters used the names of other individuals - called nominees - to buy and sell stock, sometimes without their knowledge.

When he took the stand, Peters claimed the stock profits did not go to him, but to a Swiss trading company.