By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-19 21:01:43 | Updated at 2025-03-20 16:01:45
19 hours ago
A Texas oil tycoon may face years in an American prison for tax fraud for allegedly falsely putting his fortune into his glamorous wife's name to hide his wealth from US authorities.
Douglas Edelman, 73, is awaiting trial for allegedly committing tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the US after decades of allegedly not filing or falsely filing his US tax returns, according to the Department of Justice.
Unlike some other countries, the US does require citizens living abroad to still file a tax return each year, but from the mid-1980s to 2015, the government said Edelman allegedly did not file a return with the IRS.
From 2015 onward, he allegedly filed false paperwork, claiming his income was much lower, according to court documents viewed by DailyMail.com.
Court documents claimed he also falsely reported that he only had one foreign bank account in the UK, neglecting to admit he had accounts in Switzerland, UAE, and more.
The DOJ has accused Edelman of hiding $350million in income by falsely claiming his second wife and French journalist, Delphine Le Dain, 59, was the owner of his company.
Due to her French citizenship, she would not have been required to submit US tax returns.
Le Dain also faces US charges and is currently a fugitive hiding in her native country. According to sources close to her, she is debating whether or not to turn herself in and she had not entered a plea, the Wall Street Journal reported.
'Edelman grew wealthy on the backs of the American taxpayers in the post-9/11 war effort, only to engage in a decades-long scheme to evade paying his own taxes,' prosecutors said in a December filling.
Douglas Edelman, 73, is awaiting trial for allegedly committing tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the US after decades of not filing or falsely filing his US tax returns, according to the criminal complaint
The DOJ has accused Edelman of hiding $350million in income by falsely claiming his second wife and French journalist, Delphine Le Dain, 59, was the owner of his company
The majority of Edelman's money came from a US military contract after September 11, 2001 attacks.
The tycoon, who moved from Texas to Moscow and eventually Kyrgyzstan, struck up a $7billion deal with the military after the US sent more troops to Afghanistan.
Edelman's companies, Red Star Enterprises and Mina Corporation, delivered fuel and services to the makeshift airbase at Manas, where the US flew troops to Afghanistan.
The tycoon and his business partner, who was not identified, became the Defense Department's main contractor, according to WSJ.
In 2010, this contract would come under scrutiny by a congressional oversight committee, who raised questions about whether or not the DOD had overlooked many red flags because the military desperately needed fuel, WSJ reported.
Edelman dodged a subpoena and representatives for the company told the committee that the owners would rather walk away from the deal than discloser ownership, according to WSJ.
In a 2010 email, shown in court documents, Edelman wrote to his accountant: 'Basically, I want and need my name OFF of everything...'
The company did produce some information, including false documents that hide Edelman's 50 percent stake in the company, court documents said.
The majority of Edelman's money came from a US military contract after September 11, 2001 attacks. In 2010, this contract would come under scrutiny by a congressional oversight committee, who raised questions about whether or not the DOD had overlooked many red flags
The company did produce some information, including allegedly false documents that hide Edelman's 50 percent stake in the company. The paperwork also allegedly removed his named from bank accounts that were associated and claimed Le Dain had founded the company, according to the complaint
The paperwork also removed his named from bank accounts that were associated with the company and claimed Le Dain had founded the company, according to court documents.
The DOD didn't fully access the contracts with Edelman's companies, and although it said alleged corruption from the contracts led to two revolutions in Kyrgyzstan, it didn't find any, according to WSJ.
Edelman would later submit false filings for the years 2007 to 2014, allegedly reiterating the same story that Le Dain owned his companies. He allegedly claimed to have made between $473,447 and $777,468 in those eight years, court documents show.
From 2015 to 2020, he allegedly submitted false returns to the IRS and claimed he made significantly less money as he worked as a consultant for the company, when in reality he had a 50 percent stake, the government claimed.
Le Dain gets wrapped into her husband's alleged crimes as he allegedly knowingly made false statements and signed fake documents that played into his story, according to court documents.
Edelman sold his stake in the company for $40million in 2020, but he also never reported the sale to the US, the government claimed. Instead, he claimed he only made $400,000 from consulting, according to court documents.
Their alleged scheme really dismantled after a whistleblower gave the IRS a tip accusing the couple of fabricating their story.
Edelman was arrested on July 3 in Ibiza after police came knocking on his door. He was extradited in September, according to WSJ.
Le Dain gets wrapped into her husband's alleged crimes as court document claim he knowingly made false statements and signed fake documents that played into his story (pictured: their Austrian ski chalet)
The tycoon has pleaded not guilty and faces years in prison for his crimes if convicted (pictured: one of their yachts)
The tycoon has pleaded not guilty and he was initially released on a $12.9million bail.
However, he found himself back behind bars to await trial in December after allegedly texting co-conspirators because he got 'lonely.'
'I apologize. I think I was lonely,' he told the judge at a hearing, according to WSJ.
Edelman is accused of using his wife and the three children he shares with Le Dain to hide his assets by establishing trusts in their names, according to WSJ.
With the exorbitant amount of money he made off his deals, the couple was able to buy a ski chalet in Austria, two yachts, and a double mansion in London, according to the complaint
They eventually sold the London home for $38million, most of which went to paying off the mortgage. They had several other properties in Switzerland, Portugal, and Ibiza.
At least five Americans have given cooperation agreements for pleading guilty for helping Edelman, according to WSJ.
The tycoon's trial is expected to begin in October and he is currently negotiating a plea agreement, according to the outlet.
Edelman's lawyers declined to comment when approached by DailyMail.com. There is no known attorney for Le Dain at the moment.
