A Texas man was sentenced this week to 60 months in prison for promoting an abusive tax shelter to business owners across the United States. Aanand Shukla, of Jonestown, Texas, pleaded guilty on March 10 to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States after facilitating the concealment of more than $27 million in income from the IRS.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Shukla and his co-conspirators promoted, sold and personally used an abusive trust tax shelter from 2017 to 2025. The scheme promised clients, for quoted fees as high as $225,000, that they could “own nothing, control everything” and eliminate taxes on nearly all their business income while retaining full control of their money.
Shukla marketed the shelter nationwide through seminars, webinars, podcasts and direct sales pitches. He instructed clients to restructure their companies so that approximately 98% of their business income passed through layered trusts and a private family foundation. He also told clients to pay personal expenses, including vehicle, entertainment and mortgage costs, through trust accounts and claim those expenses as deductions.
Shukla typically sold the trust packages for between $25,000 and $55,000. He created trust documents, trained other promoters and referred clients to tax preparers whom he had personally selected and knew would participate in the scheme, according to the court record described by the Justice Department.
Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division and U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas announced the sentence. IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Acting Assistant Deputy Chief Boris Bourget, Trial Attorney Michael L. Jones and former Trial Attorney Lauren K. Pope of the division’s Tax Section prosecuted it.
The Justice Department announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division on April 7. The department said the division focuses on investigating and prosecuting fraud against the American people.