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On May 29, after the tax fraud case of Richard Moore crawled through the federal courts for approximately 3 1/2 years, the former executive at Nexus Services Inc., who stiffed the IRS out of more than $3.1 million, was all set to be sentenced for his crimes.
But Moore, 48, was a no-show for his sentencing hearing in United States District Court in Harrisonburg after an online post that same day appeared to indicate he was preparing to commit suicide.
Court records state he did not attend the hearing “due to a health-related matter.” Moore was allowed to remain free on bond and a new sentencing date was set for July 21.
A federal grand jury indicted Moore in December 2021 on multiple felony charges but, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ), he continued to withhold some tax funds from the IRS, resulting in additional charges. For numerous quarters, beginning around 2015 and through the first quarter of 2024, Moore withheld tax funds but did not pay them over to the IRS and did not file returns, the DOJ said.
In January, Moore, after going through nine defense attorneys, pleaded guilty to two counts of tax fraud after failing to pay the IRS more than $3.1 million in trust fund taxes while he managed the finances at Nexus, a former Verona company where he was a minority owner. Sixteen other federal charges were not pursued.
Nexus provided bond securitization for immigrants held or released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The company fell on hard times, including an $811 million judgement in a government lawsuit that accused Nexus of engaging in a “slew of deceptive conduct.” Nexus was reportedly sold for less than $5 in 2024.
Previously, in 2023, the Verona campus of Nexus was auctioned off after the property went into foreclosure. Moore and his husband, Mike Donovan, the former majority owner of Nexus, were also recently evicted from their Fishersville home.
Feds want Moore behind bars for 10 years
In a sentencing memorandum filed by Trial Attorney William M. Montague of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, it states he wants Moore imprisoned for 120 months, or 10 years. Montague said the cash that Moore did not turn over to the IRS was used, in part, to fund a lavish lifestyle that included a fleet of several sports sports cars; $322,000 for the band Fall Out Boy to perform at a birthday party; $1 million for a ghostwriter, self-publishing and publicity for a book by Donovan; and nearly $600,000 for his wedding to Donovan.
Montague said Moore went through $11.6 million the past decade or so to help prop up his lavish lifestyle.
Montague’s memorandum also listed several past convictions for Moore, mostly for bad checks, between 1996 and 2009. “Moore’s past crimes also exhibit a contempt for judicial authority and a willingness to lie to avoid responsibility for his conduct,” Montague said. He also mentioned a 2023 perjury conviction that landed Moore behind bars for several months after he failed to perform required community service.
“Similarly, Moore was convicted of submitting a forged document to a sentencing court in another case claiming that he had completed a diversion program when, in fact, he had not. This Court should therefore take care when weighing any self-serving claims Moore may make at his sentencing.”
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Moore’s attorney, Mario Williams, who is seeking a probationary sentence of five years, said his client was overwhelmed by his duties at Nexus. “In 2014, Nexus started to grow at a startling pace. Mr. Moore had no professional training or expertise and managing the financial affairs of the company quickly became more than he could handle,” Williams said in his sentencing memorandum. “Simply put, he was way over his head. Allowing that Mr. Moore was ill-equipped to perform increasingly complex financial management is not to excuse him for failing to file returns and pay over tax trust funds in a consistent and lawful manner, but it does explain how the problem snowballed out of control.”
Moore seemed to indicate the same in January when he pleaded guilty, telling the court that Nexus “grew and grew and grew” before adding “and mistakes were made.” Moore, though, agreed that his actions were willful when pressed by the judge.
Phone messages seeking comment from Williams were not returned.
Sentencing for Moore in the federal case is now set to take place July 21 at 11 a.m. in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg. The hearing is scheduled to last two hours.
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This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Former Nexus Services Inc. executive set for sentencing – again