The Region - News from May 25, 1986

A North Hollywood tax shelter promoter was indicted in Los Angeles on charges that he and two foreign nationals conspired to create bank records and other documents to falsely claim more than $28 million in interest deductions in 1979. The promoter, Gerald L. Schulman, 54, and co-defendants, John Cogswell, a citizen of Panama, and Everd Van Walsum, a citizen of the Netherlands, were named in a 25-count indictment. Schulman was accused of conspiracy to defraud the United States, filing false federal income tax returns and perjury. Assistant U.S. Atty. Brian Hennigan said the alleged scheme involved a series of check swaps at banks in Panama and Holland among checking accounts in the names of 91 partnerships promoted by Schulman. According to the federal indictment, the check swaps indicated that the partnerships had borrowed $252 million and that $28 million had been paid in interest, when, in fact, there had been no loans and no interest payments.