Robert Anglen

The Republic | azcentral.com

A self-described graduate from the "new school of self-made moguls" pleaded guilty last week to three counts of tax evasion.

Phoenix real-estate investor Tanya Marchiol pre-empted the start of her trial on money-laundering and tax-evasion charges by admitting she didn't pay taxes on $1.4 million in income between 2008 and 2010.

Marchiol admitted guilt without a written plea agreement during a pre-trial conference Thursday. That prompted U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton to delay the jury trial two days, until Nov. 6.

Marchiol, the founder and former chief executive officer of Team Investments, once billed herself as a "real-estate guru" with a celebrity client base and a long list of media appearances.

Federal prosecutors accused her in 2013 of augmenting her financial success by conspiring with drug traffickers to launder money. They also said she had a history of not paying taxes going back to 1998 and bragged about her methods in her book, "The Prosperity Principles: Secrets to Developing and Maintaining Generational Wealth."

Marchiol wrote that people should run their lives like businesses "where everything you do can be deducted from your reportable income as a business expense."

Marchiol, who pleaded not guilty to the charges last year, could not be reached for comment last week.

In a brief interview in January she said she could not discuss the case, but "would be more than happy to do that when it is all over." Her lawyer said at the time she was shocked by the arrest.

The charges stem from Marchiol's involvement in the 2008 purchase of a Phoenix house, which she did at the behest of two drug traffickers to shield the actual ownership, prosecutors said in an indictment.

Authorities said the drug traffickers provided Marchiol with $140,000 cash to buy the house. They said Marchiol deposited the money into a business account and commingled it with proceeds from professional athletes who were her clients.

The deal fell apart when Arizona authorities attempted to seize the house as part of an asset-forfeiture case, the indictment alleged. Authorities said Marchiol told the traffickers that her lawyer would take care of the seizure.

In Maricopa County Superior Court documents, Marchiol said she was the owner of the property and served as landlord to the traffickers, who leased the property from her.

A number of Marchiol's former employees told authorities she engaged in money laundering for personal profit, according to court documents.

Prosecutors initially requested Marchiol be held without bail, saying she posed an economic danger to the community.

A judge instead banned her from engaging in any business activity related to her firm, including marketing, selling or investing in real estate. She also was ordered not to provide any real-estate or financial advice to the public.

A Call 12 for Action investigation in January found Marchiol was likely marketing properties. A person identified as Marchiol sought buyers for two commercial properties in Phoenix via a LinkedIn account.

"Massive Arizona Cash Flowing Multi-Units," said a sales pitch posted under Marchiol's name. "Contact us today for more info on these and other cash flow properties."

The pitch was accompanied by Marchiol's picture and indicated that the poster had started a chat about the properties in LinkedIn's "real-estate investor" discussion group. It included descriptions of the apartments and referrals to Team Investments.

Shortly after Call 12 contacted Marchiol, the LinkedIn account was closed.

Marchiol used to be a prominent fixture on her company's Website, which highlighted the "incredible returns" she earned for clients and noted her regular appearances on radio and television shows, including CNN, CNBC and Fox Business. In Phoenix, she was interviewed on 12 News — which shares a newsroom with The Republic and azcentral.com — about real estate.

Last week, her presence was absent from the homepage of the website and the only references to her involvement were in a series of links, which described her as the founder.

The Team Investment home page pictured photos of Arizona landscapes, labeled with the words "wisdom," "abundance," "loyalty" and "prosperity."

Reach the reporter at robert.anglen@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @robertanglen.

Here to help

Problem with a business? Call us. Our trained volunteers will take phone calls from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at 602-260-1212. Or you can submit your complaint at call12.azcentral.com.

Call 12 for Action's consumer-savings total for 2014: $1,790,924.

Money saved for consumers in 2013: $1,027,915.

Money saved for consumers since 2000: $10,025,792.