SAN DIEGO—A former San Diego resident who fled the United States more than 20 years ago to avoid being sentenced for tax crimes was sentenced April 28 to over five years in federal prison.
Robin McPherson was slated to appear for a March 2001 sentencing hearing following his convictions for tax evasion and conspiracy, but instead fled the country, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
McPherson, who was the president and co-owner of La Jolla-based telemarketing company Continental Wireless Cable Inc., was convicted along with two co-defendants of evading taxes on profits the company earned, leading to a tax loss to the IRS of more than $1 million, according to a DOJ statement.
He was apprehended in Costa Rica last year.
According to a sentencing memorandum from McPherson’s defense attorney, Stephen White, his client’s wife and children had relocated to Costa Rica around the time he was to be sentenced and were expecting to remain there until he got out of prison. While overseas, “they were struggling financially and living in a dangerous neighborhood. Out of concern for his family, Mr. McPherson went to Costa Rica and failed to appear at sentencing,” the memorandum states.
White wrote that McPherson turned himself in to Costa Rican police in early 2022.
“Mr. McPherson stated it was time to do the right thing and get all these cases behind him as he was tired of being a fugitive and living illegally in Costa Rica. He had spent the last 20 years looking over his shoulder and he was tired of it,” the attorney wrote.
In addition to the bail jumping charge, McPherson, 68, pleaded guilty earlier this year to attempted tax evasion and wire fraud charges in two unrelated cases.
According to court documents, the attempted tax evasion stems from taxes McPherson and a co-defendant tried to evade in 1999 and 2000.
The wire fraud charge stems from a case in which prosecutors say that between 2016 and 2022, McPherson solicited investor funds for a fake Costa Rican real estate development project, then used the funds to pay for personal expenses.
Prosecutors allege in court documents that victims believed they were investing in partial ownership of a villa that would be part of a larger Costa Rican development. No villas were ever completed and investors did not receive their money back.
Prosecutors say “dozens” of investors were defrauded, resulting in about $1.5 million in losses.
U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino sentenced McPherson to 63 months in prison, which accounts for all four criminal cases filed against him. He was also ordered to pay restitution of around $4.7 million.
Prior to being sentenced, McPherson told the judge, “I truly feel bad for a lot of the people that put their faith in me and their money ... and the pain I’ve caused my family.”
