Texas tycoon Wyly engaged in massive tax fraud, IRS tells court

DALLAS, (Reuters) – Texas tycoon Sam Wyly engaged in “lies, deception and fraud” in a years-long scheme to dodge taxes on $1.1 billion held in offshore trusts, a lawyer for the Internal Revenue Service said yesterday.

The IRS made those claims at the start of a trial in federal bankruptcy court in Dallas in which the agency is seeking $3.22 billion in back taxes, penalties and interest from Wyly and the widow of his late brother Charles, Caroline Wyly.