Episode 7: The Con Artist Television Taxman of San Diego Part II- How One Man Duped the Public and Betrayed His Clients

Tax Crime Junkies

Today’s episode is the exciting conclusion of the true crime tale of J. Douglas Jennings, the con artist television taxman of San Diego. He was involved in tax planning and ran a faith based practice, using religion to trick clients into trusting him. In the last episode, we learned about Doug Jennings’ most well-known case wherein he schemed an elderly client out of 3 million dollars and was subsequently disbarred. In spite of this, Doug and his wife, Peggy, kept up their criminal activities for a total of 25 years before being sentenced to prison for bankruptcy fraud and tax evasion. Over this 25 year period, Doug continued to get into more and more debt, hide valuable assets, and defraud several banks. In the end, Doug had racked up over $25 million in debt to creditors and individual investors. He was sentenced to 34 months in prison, while his wife was sentenced to 4 months and ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution to JP Morgan Chase.

Talking Points

• 2013 Louise deCarl Adler, a bankruptcy judge, charges Doug and Peggy with embezzlement and or larceny in connection with fraudulent intent on a transaction
• Doug owed over 25 million to creditors including banks like JP Morgan Chase, CitiBank; also owed individual investors
• He was sued 15 times for professional negligence & malpractice and 2 times for fraud
• The Utah property case
• Doug’s hidden assets and extensive debts
• Judge Adler’s letter about Doug and his wife’s felonious intent and malicious actions
• In 2017 Doug pleads guilty to bankruptcy fraud and tax evasion
• In 2018 Doug is sentenced to 34 months in prison. His wife, Peggy, is sentenced to 4 months in prison for bank fraud and aiding and abetting. She is ordered to pay JP Morgan Chase $1.5 million
• The importance of following ethical guidelines and avoiding misconduct, especially as accountants
• Why you need to do your homework before doing business with someone

Quotes

• “He ran a faith based practice that ended up being caught and sued more times than Lindsay Lohan.” (0:34-0:40 | Dom)
• "In the first bankruptcy case he filed, he did something that is not surprising at all when you see his character from past cases. He hid the fact that he had a stock interest in a real-estate deal worth 1 million dollars, he hid his 53-foot luxury yacht named the “Sea Eagle” worth 150,000, and let’s not forget how much he owed to the yacht docking business that he stored it at. Oh and he also hid 165 thousand worth of antique silver from authorities....not in prison that's for sure" (8:34-9:34 | Dom and Tom)
• “If people did more of their homework on who they were doing business with, I do really believe less fraud and less schemes would be imposed on the public.” (16:10-16:21 | Tom)