Former Kickboxing Champion, Alexio, Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

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Chief US District Judge J. Michael Seabright today sentenced Dennis R. Alexio, 58, of ʻAiea, to a term of 15 years in jail.  Alexio, a former world kickboxing champion who also starred in the movie “Kickboxer,” was sentenced for tax fraud, money laundering, and commercial fraud.

The sentencing follows Alexio’s convictions last year in two trials. First, on Jan. 22, 2016, a federal jury found Alexio guilty on all 28 counts of defrauding the Internal Revenue Service of more than $700,000 in illegally obtained tax refunds.

Second, on Sep. 16, 2016, another federal jury found Alexio guilty on all 18 counts of an indictment charging him with using false and fictitious financial instruments to obtain property from multiple unsuspecting victims.

Elliot Enoki, Acting United States Attorney, said that, according to evidence produced during the first trial, Alexio stole more than $700,000 from the IRS by preparing and filing tax returns for others which falsely claimed tax refunds in those amounts. Alexio then used cashier’s checks to try and launder the money and hide it from the government. Nevertheless, through the use of search warrants and tax levies, the government was able to recover most of the money.

According to evidence produced during the second trial, Alexio obtained $185,000 of silver coins and gold bars by fraud and theft from APMEX, an internet metals company based in Oklahoma City. Information presented in court also included Alexio’s theft of approximately $16,000 in currency from Dartmouth Capital, an internet currency exchange company based in Boston.

The Internal Revenue Service led the investigation which resulted in both sets of convictions. The prosecution was handled by Assistant US Attorneys Marshall Silverberg and Margaret Nammar.