Douglas Brendle, of Cheyenne, WY, pled guilty in federal court on two counts of willfully failing to file his income tax returns and one count of making a fraudulent application for health care benefits.
Brendle was the owner and operator of Brendle Climbing Systems, LLC which sold the “Fitwall” exercise equipment he created. In January, 2013, Brendle sold the rights to Fitwall to investors and received $1.5 million in payments during 2013-2014. During that time, Brendle failed to file individual income tax returns or pay income tax, for a loss to the IRS of $404,501.
Additionally, in December 2013, Brendle filed a false application for Wyoming Medicaid claiming he made no income. Claims filed with the Medicaid office during 2013-2014 totaled over $20,000.
Sentencing will be on September 24, 2018 where he faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison, restitution, monetary penalties and a period of supervised release.
