Italian Stuntman in Hollywood Was an Illegal Financial Agent

Ua life out of a movie, but with a tax evasion script. The Guardia di Finanza of Syracuse, on behalf of the Prosecutor's Office, dismantled a sophisticated international tax evasion system that revolved around a citizen of Syracuse.

He was known for his career as a stuntman in Hollywood in successful productions such as 'Batman Begins', 'Mission Impossible', 'Gangs of New York' and 'Ocean's Twelve'. The man, who in recent years operated as an illegal financial agent abroad, was hit by a preventive seizure of over 1,5 million euros.

What aroused the investigators' suspicions was his lavish lifestyle, in stark contrast to the lack of declared income and formal employment. His assets included prestigious properties, luxury cars, company shares and an exclusive residence in SIRACUSA, complete with swimming pool and expensive furnishings. In fact, the man has never filed any tax return, neither in Italy nor abroad, resulting in him being completely unknown to the tax authorities.

/h3)A complicated financial fraud scheme

Investigations revealed that his standard of living was financed by large sums deposited in foreign bank accounts, linked to credit cards used in Italy for daily expenses and, above all, for the purchase of goods of exceptional value.

During a tax audit, the analysis of the computer devices used by the suspect allowed the discovery of an impressive amount of information: electronic correspondence with clients and thousands of files, including numerous financial intermediation contracts written in English.

In-depth analysis of digital data cleverly hidden on tablets and mobile phones, along with the translation of documentation, revealed the existence of a system centered on a company formally registered in London and registered to the suspect.

This entity operated as an intermediary between companies based in foreign countries, often characterized by a high risk of insolvency and therefore excluded from the normal credit circuits. Customers, fearing not to receive the goods, availed themselves of the mediation of the London company, which guaranteed the success of the commercial operations, ensuring both the collection and the regular conclusion of the transaction.

To provide the necessary guarantees, the London company turned to credit institutions in various countries, presenting false bank statements that attested to the availability of large sums. In this way, the suspect, also exploiting his notoriety, induced the banks to believe that he had sufficient funds, convincing them to advance the payment for the goods to the customer.

It emerged that the London company was in fact a shell entity, without an operational headquarters and set up with the sole purpose of concealing the identity of the real beneficiary of the commissions: the Sicilian stuntman-financial agent.

An in-depth analysis of his bank transactions revealed that, over a decade, the man had earned incomes mainly attributable to commissions for a total amount exceeding 60 million euros. These sums were systematically omitted from the tax return, thus avoiding the payment of taxes for approximately 26 million euros.

To evade controls by foreign tax authorities and not arouse suspicion, money flows (from abroad to abroad) were masked. Payers received precise instructions to indicate the words “personal loan” in the reasons for transfers, making the sums appear as transfers between private individuals and not as consideration for professional services. This made it much more difficult to trace the payments back to a real economic activity.

The man is now under investigation for failure to file tax returns. The Guardia di Finanza is proceeding with the acquisition of banking documentation, including foreign ones, through international rogatory letters addressed to non-EU countries, with the aim of reconstructing the total amount of income produced everywhere and all financial transactions attributable to him.

In the meantime, the entire assets of the suspect present on the national territory have been seized, which include a villa with swimming pool, a Porsche Taycan worth approximately 200.000 euros and financial assets in current accounts, for a total value that currently exceeds 1,5 million euros. The investigation continues to shed full light on this complex case of international tax evasion.