Cheyenne Residents Sentenced For Tax Fraud

A pair of Cheyenne residents and an Arizona woman have been sentenced in federal court for tax fraud and obstruction of justice.

Joe Ruben Hill, aka Joe Hill, was sentenced the three years and five months in prison for his part in promoting a sham trust scheme designed to hide taxable income. Lucille Kathleen Hill, aka Kathy Hill, was sentenced to three years of probation with a special condition, including six months of home confinement.

The Hills were also ordered to pay restitution for unpaid federal income taxes and a $100 special assessment.

Arizona Resident Gloria Reeder was sentenced to 15 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay  $310,428 in restitution for unpaid taxes as well as a $100 special assessment. The sentences were all handed by down Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Freudenthal.

The Hills were sentenced on August 18 while Reeder's sentence was handed down August 21.

The trio had been convicted in a federal court trial in May. Evidence presented at the trial showed the Hills had last filed an income tax return in 1994, while Reeder hadn't filed a return since 1985. The Hills had also operated a business known as Creative Consulting Group,(CCG) which sold sham trusts that they falsely claimed would reduce or eliminate the need to pay federal income taxes.

The Hills, Reeder, and many of their clients used the scheme to hide income and assets from the Internal Revenue Service.

Kathy Hill and Reeder also used false liens to keep the IRS from seizing their homes for back taxes