Former Houston Treasurer indicted for wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion

On Wednesday, former City of Houston Treasurer Jess George Adams is scheduled to make his initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kyle F. Reardon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska after a federal grand jury in Anchorage returned an indictment on March 21, 2023, charging an Alaska man with wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.

According to the indictment, released on Tuesday, Adams, of Willow, Alaska, embezzled a total of more than $1.16 million from the City of Houston, and from a Wasilla-based equipment company, alleged to have taken place from 2015 to 2022.

The indictment alleges that from 2015 through 2018, while Adams served as the Treasurer for the City of Houston, assigned with bookkeeping responsibilities and administrative access to the City’s accounting records and software, he used this access to direct electronic transfers from the City’s bank account to a personal account in his name, maintained by Adams to hide the embezzled funds.

It is further alleged that Adams used fictitious entries in the City’s accounting software to make it appear as though these payments were made for legitimate business expenses.

In October 2018, the City of Houston placed Adams on administrative leave, and he resigned his position in November 2018. A year later, Adams allegedly was employed as a bookkeeper by a local equipment company, where he again had access over the company’s accounting records and software. The indictment charges that, using this access, Adams directed electronic transfers from the company’s bank account to other personal accounts that Adams opened in his name to hide the embezzled money. To conceal his activity, Adams allegedly used false entries in the company’s accounting software to make it appear as though these funds were transferred for the payment of legitimate business expenses.

Adams allegedly laundered the embezzled money he obtained from the equipment company by making several wire transfers from his personal bank account to other accounts, each at a value greater than $10,000.

According to the indictment, Adams was a former seasonal tax return preparer for a national tax advisory company. According to the indictment, he filed false individual income tax returns for tax years 2016 through 2021, which did not disclose the additional income he diverted to himself in his attempt to conceal his embezzlement and evade the assessment of income taxes.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count, 10 years in prison for each money laundering count, 5 years in prison for each tax evasion count.

Adams is scheduled to make his initial court appearance Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kyle F. Reardon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case with substantial assistance from the Alaska State Troopers. Trial Attorney Boris Bourget of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney George Tran of the District of Alaska are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This is a developing story.