Fugitive in Tax Shelter Scheme Seized in Europe
A con artist convicted in Los Angeles in 1987 on federal charges of defrauding about 150 investors out of more than $1.3 million in a motion picture tax shelter scheme was arrested Thursday in Switzerland.
Gerald L. Rogers, a fugitive since his conviction, “apparently has access to lots of money from past frauds” and spent the last two years traveling with a woman companion, Assistant U.S. Atty. Stephen Mansfield said.
Rogers faced a maximum prison term of 103 years after his conviction on 29 counts of tax and mail fraud stemming from the phony movie tax shelter scam. He fled after a judge allowed him to remain free pending sentencing, Mansfield said. Prosecutors will file papers March 11 to seek Rogers’ return to Los Angeles for sentencing.
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