Berlin Twin Brothers Sentenced for Tax Evasion
Berlin, MD - Twin brothers from Berlin, Maryland are headed to federal prison after hiding millions of dollars in income from the IRS for years. Each of them also has to pay back nearly $1.8 million.
Dennis March, 55, and Greg March, 55, both of Berlin, Maryland, were sentenced by federal Judge Deborah K. Chasanow. Each brother got six months in prison for tax evasion. Judge Chasanow also ordered each of them to pay nearly $1.8 million in restitution.
Once they're out, each will serve three years of supervised release. As a special condition of that release, they'll spend 12 months on home detention.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentences along with Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington D.C. Field Office. The case is part of the Trump Administration's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
Court documents show that from 2017 until April 2023, the brothers willfully dodged the taxes they owed on their business and personal returns for 2017 through 2022. Each of them hid more than $4.5 million in income earned from 2017 to 2023. Each one also skipped paying nearly $1.8 million in taxes on that money.
During those years, the brothers and a third business partner owned and ran several companies together. Those included Elite Marketing Group LLC, Elite MG LLC and Principal Law Group. Their businesses brought in a lot of revenue and income from 2017 to 2023.
So how did they hide it? According to court documents, the brothers set up payments to a shell company they controlled. On paper, those payments looked like normal business expenses, but the money was really going to the brothers themselves.
They also didn't file a number of IRS forms the law requires. That included business and personal tax returns.
In September 2021, the brothers looked to use money from the scheme to buy real estate in Florida that they controlled with their business partner. They bought several Florida properties worth more than $2 million. They also paid a Florida building company to put up two homes on empty lots there.
Cash was coming out of the businesses too. From 2017 to 2022, the brothers took more than $3.5 million in cash out of business bank accounts.
The Department of Justice has set up a new National Fraud Enforcement Division, known as the Fraud Division. Its job is to investigate and prosecute people who commit fraud against the American people. The division's work supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a government-wide effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to wipe out fraud, waste and abuse in federal benefit programs.
Hayes praised IRS-CI for its work on the investigation. She also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Catriona Coppler and Ari D. Evans, who prosecuted the case, and Paralegal Specialists Joanna B.N. Huber and Shelbe Mascaro for their help.
