Feb. 9 trial date set for Ellefsens

A Feb. 9, 2009, trial date has been scheduled at U. S. District Court in Springfield for Mark and Brian Ellefsen.

The Ellefsen brothers were indicted in April 2007 by a federal grand jury. According to court documents, the Ellefsens were involved in a 10-year scheme to divert at least $1.567 million into offshore accounts to avoid paying income tax. Mark Ellefsen was office manager for Southwest Bone and Joint, the business run by Brian Ellefsen.
The indictment said Brian Ellefsen used the diverted funds to "pay for cash withdrawals and charges made on the offshore credit card, payments for (his) personal expenses, payments on loans owned by (him), expenditures for the construction of (his) family home, and expenditures for the purchase of another residence located on Table Rock Lake, Missouri."

The Ellefsens misled the accounting firm preparing their income tax returns, according to the indictments, causing false income tax returns to be filed.