2 Michigan men plead guilty to tax fraud

The same tax-protest group that helped land actor Wesley Snipes in prison for cheating on his taxes has snared two more victims: two Michigan men.

David Cusumono, of Plymouth, and Henry Nino, of Northville, each face up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to tax fraud, the Department of Justice and IRS announced today. 

According to court documents, Cusumono and Nino admitting they used the services of American Rights Litigators, also known as the Guiding Light of God Ministries, a Florida-based tax-protest group that for years taught thousands how to cheat on their taxes.

Among the group’s clients was film star Snipes, who in 2008 was sentenced to three years in prison for failing to file tax returns. The group’s founder, Eddie Ray Kahn, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last August.

A federal grand jury in Detroit returned an indictment against Cusumano, a mechanical engineer, and Nino, an electrician, in January 2011. 

Nino and Cusumano both paid the ministry to submit false and obstructive correspondence to the IRS and to their banks, authorities said. Nino cost the government more than $366,000 in losses; Cusumano cost it more than $390,000. 

According to court documents, Nino hid his money from the government for years by, for example, using money orders to make mortgage payments or cashing paychecks rather than depositing them into the bank. Cusumano failed to file tax returns from 2003-2008.

Nino and Cusumano will be sentenced Oct. 20.