A Florida resident, Paul Archer, 46, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for attempting to evade taxes and committing bankruptcy fraud. The sentencing took place in U.S. District Court in Bangor, Maine, where Judge Stacy D. Neumann also ordered Archer to serve three years of supervised release after his prison term.
Court records indicate that Archer previously operated a successful online marketing business focused on software installation for computers, generating millions of dollars between 2013 and 2015. Following an IRS audit in 2016 that assessed him with about $1 million in federal tax debt for those years, Archer began hiding assets through two limited liability companies he controlled and started using bank accounts under other people’s names to avoid paying the tax debt.
Between April 2018 and November 2019, Archer moved assets by utilizing several bank accounts held under the names Max Tune Up, LLC; Stealth Kit, LLC; his father; and his spouse. Through an account registered to Stealth Kit, LLC, Archer received income via direct deposit and managed over $2 million in wire payments. He also used cryptocurrency platforms and online payment systems to transfer funds. Additionally, he shifted an investment account from his own name into Stealth Kit, LLC’s name before conducting trades and collecting dividends or interest distributions. During this period, Archer owned Bitcoin on two different cryptocurrency exchanges and conducted transactions involving several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of digital currency.
In March 2019, Archer filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. In court documents related to the filing—including his petition and schedules—he claimed assets totaling less than $50,000 with only a single checking account listed. He reported no other property interests or recent transfers of assets as well as no involvement with businesses or memberships in any LLCs. These statements were repeated under oath both during creditor meetings led by a Chapter 7 Trustee and in communications with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine.
The investigation into Archer’s activities was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation together with the FBI.