The author of Skinny, Tan and Rich: Unveiling the Myth, and her husband, stand accused of dodging a $2 million tax bill, and federal prosecutors allege they set up an LLC scheme to hide their assets.
Hey, anyone can fall a little behind on their taxes. But if you published a book called Skinny, Tan and Rich: Unveiling the Myth, and you own a five-acre “boutique venue” for wellness retreats, and your unpaid tax bill is alleged by federal prosecutors to be around $2 million, this might draw the attention of the feds. And that is what happened to a Kenfield couple, whom the Bay Area News Group reports is accused of not paying taxes and setting up fraudulent business entities to obscure their ownership of the property.
The News Group reports that federal prosecutors are now trying to seize that property to cover the unpaid tax bill. The Nicasio property is called Gassho House, described on its website as “a unique boutique venue for your wellness retreat” and “a space where connection, creativity, and goodness can thrive.”
According to the Bay Area News Group, “Federal prosecutors filed a civil action on July 25 against David Raynal, a real estate businessman, and Maryanne Comaroto, a motivational speaker, relationship coach and radio personality who has authored books such as Hindsight: What You Need to Know Before You Drop Your Drawers.” (If you must, here are her other books.)
The allegations are more than just unpaid taxes, but the dollar mounts there are significant. They filed jointly in 2010, but allegedly never paid the nearly $450,000 owed, and with interest that has ballooned to nearly $900,000. They then started filing separately after that, according to prosecutors, and Raynal didn’t pay for about four years, leaving his bill at nearly $950,000 according to the feds.
But it’s the structuring of their real estate holdings that’s really drawing the ire of prosecutors. “The couple had years earlier formed a limited liability company, Unlimited Partnerships, specifically ‘to hide assets,’ according to the federal complaint,” according to the Bay Area News Group. “Unlimited was the owner of record for several of the couple’s residential properties and eventually Gassho House, but was in reality indistinguishable from the couple themselves, despite Raynal purportedly dissolving his interest in 2013 and transferring some to Comaroto’s son Nolan Ellis, according to the complaint.”
None of them responded for comment from the Bay Area News Group, nor did their attorney.
Image: Gassho House via Youtube
