Prison Proves To Be Small Deterrent for Boroian
FranCorp's Chairman Don Boroian Takes Care of Business from Prison Cell
DULUTH, Minn (Blue MauMau) - When Donald Boroian, a legendary franchise business consultant of 30-plus years, surrendered to the Duluth Federal Prison Camp in Minnesota on July 27, 2006, many felt it would be the demise of Francorp, Inc., his world-renowned Chicago-based company. After pleading guilty to tax evasion, a judge on May 16 sentenced him to twelve months and one day in federal prison and two years of supervised release. Boroian’s guilty plea was for failing to report $388,752 in income from his company in 1998 and for failing to report $108,850 in taxes. He also admitted he did not pay an additional $875,337 during a four-year period.
According to a spokesperson at Duluth‘s federal prison, Boroian’s projected release date is now June 9, 2007, although he did not know why. When asked if inmates are allowed to conduct business from prison cells he said they were not, that they must assign authority to someone else within their company. Only if it is necessary for someone to make a decision that will substantially affect the assets or prospects of the business, will they be allowed a special visit. But some sources have reported that regular conference calls are being conducted with Boroian pertaining to current business matters while he is behind bars.
And, Boroian’s “sabbatical” (a term used by staff to explain his absence) doesn’t seem to have slowed down his franchise operation. For the past seven months Francorp has been named in a variety of media press releases as the number-one franchise development consulting firm, engaged to jump-start franchise programs for well-established and fledgling companies. Although Boroian lost several members of his executive team, including his long-time chief operating officer, when the latest IRS probe came to a close, a new group seemed to be taking over in helping to run the company. Francorp projects a huge presence all over the world by touting 12 offices in nine countries, and it attempts to prove it by publicizing a long list of distinguished franchise companies as clients.
One press release this week gives a testimonial from the first franchisees of Palm Tree Computer Systems in Florida, saying they were proud to be part of the new franchise in duplicating the company’s mission in providing high quality computer services. Palm Tree’s founder vowed, “We will accomplish our mission using the honesty and integrity that can only come from following the will of God.”Other press releases listed under the Francorp name are Jo To Go Coffee, Interior Design by Decorating Den, Deck Rescue, Happy Tails Dog Spa, Hot Stocks, Aging-In-Place and Luggage Express Associates Program. Francorp’s website also advertises that it will be conducting 20 seminars this year in various states, helping companies to get their franchise programs on the fast track.
Boroian on IRS’s “What Not to Do” list
In the IRS’s “FY2006 Examples of Corporate Fraud Investigations,” it names Donald Boroian, president of Francorp, Inc., as one such case, giving the details of his guilty plea and sentencing. But that is not the extent of his financial woes. The Cook County Recorder of Deeds in Illinois also names Francorp Inc. with a long list of tax liens, state and federal, on monies owed to the IRS, Illinois Department of Revenue, and the Illinois Department of Employment Security. One lien was issued last year in the amount of $706,126, in an attempt to recoup an accumulation of quarterly employee taxes. A Chicago newspaper reported that after the criminal case was over, the IRS would send it to the civil division and an audit would be conducted. But one tax attorney who formerly worked for the IRS said it may take as much as two or three years for the civil case to be adjudicated.
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