Everyone knew he was messed up after wrecking that Viper in 2004 !
He should have bought a Corvette instead !
He had bleeding in his head issues for several years !
On top of that I've been told Drag Racing is as addictive as narcotics and all Drag Racers are Crazy !
I surely wouldn't know but I wished I had the dough to find out !
From Comp Plus !
GRAND RAPIDS — U.S. Marshals took Evan Knoll into custody Thursday so he can undergo a psychological evaluation to determine if he can properly assist in his defense and to gauge his competency at the time he allegedly filed false tax refunds that bilked the federal government out of more than $80 million.
Magistrate Ellen Carmody ordered the evaluation, requested by Knoll's attorney, Paul Vlachos, of Kalamazoo,during Knoll's initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids. Knoll, 51, of Decatur, is charged with bank fraud and false, fictitious and fraudulent claims.
Carmody said Knoll will be in custody for three to four months while undergoing evaluation at a federal facility.
Knoll owned General Sales and Service Inc. in Decatur and did business as Torco Racing Fuels Inc., Knoll Gas, Knoll Gas Motorsports Inc., EWK, LLC and eRaceFuels Inc.
As part of a criminal complaint filed June 8 in federal court, investigators allege that between February 1999 and February 2008, Knoll's company filed claims for refunds of more than $106 million in federal gasoline excise taxes. High-octane racing fuel is exempt from the federal excise tax on gasoline and the IRS "paid out more than $80 million in excise tax refunds" to the company, according to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint.
Investigators also allege Knoll used the money to gain approval for large loans from a local bank.
The bank fraud charge is punishable by a fine of up to $1 million and/or up to 30 years in prison. The charge of false, fictitious and fraudulent claims is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine.
In requesting that his client undergo a competency evaluation, Vlachos and federal prosecutors told Carmody that Knoll suffered a brain injury in a 2004 vehicle crash and that many of the allegations against him occurred after that date, putting the injuries "into question" as to whether they affected his decision-making capabilities.
A special agent with the Internal Revenue Service said in the affidavit that Knoll told his accountant, creditors and employees that he sold "private label" racing fuel and that he had patented formulas of fuel produced by Valero Energy Corp. and sold to Shell Oil and Chevron.
Knoll's accountant, Barbara Ewing, told investigators Knoll provided her invoices "purportedly from Valero ... that show the purchase of millions of gallons of racing fuel," and that under Knoll's direction, Ewing used those invoices to prepare the IRS forms that were submitted to obtain the excise tax refunds.
However, the affidavit says records the IRS obtained from Valero show Knoll's company "purchased relatively small quantities of racing fuel" from the company and that the purchases stopped in November 2005. Officials from Shell Oil and Chevron said they "did not have any business transactions with Knoll or any of his business entities."
The affidavit says that between September 2004 and October 2007, Knoll used the forms submitted to the IRS and other financial statements to obtain loans from Chemical Bank. The last loan was for $15 million and has since gone into default.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McDonald told Carmody Thursday that federal prosecutors will not oppose a court hearing on bond for Knoll once the competency evaluation is completed.
Knoll, dressed in a black T-shirt and blue jeans and donning a thick goatee, spoke briefly during the hearing to respond to Carmody's inquiries as to whether he understood the charges against him, the penalties he faces and that undergoing the examination means he will be in federal custody for up to four months.
As he left the courtroom with federal marshals, Knoll spoke with McDonald, who smiled at him and told Knoll "we'll see you in a couple of months."
Members of Knoll's family, including his daughters and siblings, cried as he was led from the courtroom.
"Love you, Evan," one of them said. "Be careful."
I don't personally know if he is guilty or not, but I do know that I don't always trust the government and if at this point Evan says he is completely innocent of these charges and plans on fighting them then I will give him the benefit of the doubt. We'll see how it all pans out, but my gut says that if the government really thought he stole 80 million then he'd already be in chains. I think they are fishing for a settlement for something else.
