By News-Register staff • 

McMinnville man found guilty of tax evasion

James Millegan of McMinnville has been found guilty of one count of tax evasion following a two-week federal jury trial in Portland.

The 65-year-old, who hid two multi-million dollar homes in multiple bank accounts and submitted false financial statements to the Internal Revenue Service, evaded $2.5 million in income taxes.

Tax evasion is punishable by up to five years in federal prison. Millegan will be sentenced on April 3, 2023, by U.S. District Court Judge Karin J. Immergut.

According to court documents, Millegan owned and operated J.W. Millegan, Inc., a small, commission-based investment advisory business that served clients in the Portland and Salem. From 1996 to 2016, the investment firm was Millegan’s only significant source of income.

Over a seven-year period from July 2009 through September 2016, Millegan evaded payment of the $2.5 million. He filed tax returns each year reflecting his true income, which sometimes exceeded $1 million, and the taxes he owed on that income, which typically ranged from $125,000 to $350,000. Despite these returns, Millegan often failed to pay the IRS. 

Millegan was described as a prolific spender by personal assistants hired to pay his bills.

He used the proceeds of his tax evasion to fund an extravagant lifestyle that included a $4.5 million home in Portland, a $1.3 million home on the Oregon coast, Rolls Royce and Bentley automobiles for everyday use, equestrian expenses like stabling and lessons and an attempt to establish a world-class equestrian competition center and resort near Sheridan.

Millegan also bought a classic 1938 Rolls Royce touring car, spent $800,000 restoring it and showed it in premier car shows in the U.S., Great Britain and Europe.

To evade the payment of his income taxes, Millegan concealed his income from the IRS by transferring it to six bank accounts he controlled, including transferring $1.4 million to the bank account of his deceased mother’s trust, which he used to pay his personal expenses.

From July 2009 through September 2016, Millegan transferred $3.7 million to these accounts. To further conceal his income, Millegan submitted false financial statements to the IRS.

On November 21, 2019, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a 13-count indictment charging Millegan with tax evasion and investment churning.

Later, on February 17, 2022, he was charged by the superseding indictment with wire fraud and tax evasion.

A jury trial on the wire fraud charges is scheduled to begin in March 2023.

The tax evasion case was investigated by an IRS criminal investigation team. Seth D. Uram and Meredith D.M. Bateman, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon, prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hannah Horsley assisted the trial team.

Comments

E.J. Farrar

"Only the little people pay taxes." - Leona Helmsley

M. Lazzeri

Arrogance personified.

Joel R

Sounds like the judge will likely be enrolling him in Gray Stone College out in Sheridan. He'll probably get about two years. Sounds like it's well deserved.

sisinmac

Seems to be a trend of rich people thinking they deserve entitlement, again.

sandyq4

Glad the cities of Sheridan/Willamina did not fall for his proposal.

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