WASHINGTON “ Russell Pike, 50, of Las Vegas, the former CEO of a Nevada sports energy drink company, Xyience Inc., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan to 52 months in prison for his April 2012 conviction for tax evasion, Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada Daniel G. Bogden announced today.
On April 2, 2012, following a bench trial, Pike was convicted of one count of tax evasion for 2006 in which he evaded taxes due on over $7.9 million of income. According to evidence presented at trial, Pike founded Xyience Inc., which manufactured, marketed and sold sports energy drinks, most notably, Xenergy, which was sold in over 45,000 stores throughout the United States. Upon the inception of Xyience in 2004, Pike received at least 12 million shares of Xyience stock. During 2006, Pike sold over 4.4 million shares of his Xyience stock for approximately $7.9 million, which included a sale in November 2006 of over three million shares to an investor for $5 million. In early 2007, Pike requested that the investor change the date of the stock purchase agreement from 2006 to 2007, so that Pike could avoid paying taxes for 2006.
The evidence also established that during 2006, Pike expended millions of dollars to sustain his lavish lifestyle, drive luxury cars and bet millions of dollars at local sports books. Furthermore, Pike made payments on a 2005 Lexus SUV and 2005 Land Rover that were held in the name of a nominee. Also in 2006, Pike used a nominee to purchase a 2007 Mercedes Benz SL55 AMG for $151,614.
In addition to 52 months of prison, Judge Mahan sentenced Pike to three years of supervised release with a special condition that he pay $1,189,773 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
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