AKRON — Youngstown attorney Robert J. Rohrbaugh II was arraigned in U.S. District Court on charges he aided two other men in filing fraudulent federal income tax returns.

Rohrbaugh, who is represented by attorney Samuel Amendolara, pleaded not guilty and was released on bond.

Rohrbaugh, 46, was indicted July 1 with Brandon R. Mace, 43, of Youngstown, and Terris C. Baker, 49, of Canton. Rohrbaugh’s primary office location was in Youngstown, the indictment states. The address for Rohrbaugh on his Ohio Supreme Court registry is 3200 Belmont Ave.

The three face charges of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, aiding and abetting theft of government property, aiding and abetting false claims against the U.S. and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

When asked about the case, Amendolara replied in an email, “Attorney Rohrbaugh was surprised by the filing of this indictment. The allegations contained in the indictment date back five years. The allegations center around a fraud that two of the defendants perpetrated on the government. One of the defendants was a client of attorney Rohrbaugh.”

Rohrbaugh was licensed as a lawyer in November 1999, according to his indictment.

The government alleges from about January 2015 to about September 2015, the defendants conspired to submit fraudulent federal income tax returns in the names of various fictitious entities to the IRS in order to obtain refunds. One government refund check totaled $1.35 million in the name of a fictitious business called Speed Werks LLC, the government stated.

In order to carry out their conspiracy, the defendants created phony business entities, trusts and employer identification numbers and prepared fraudulent income tax return documents, which reported large tax withholdings that never existed, according to a news release from the office of U.S. Attorney’s office in Cleveland.

Mace caused false income tax returns to be filed for the 2014 tax year for seven entities, including Speed Werks, the indictment alleges.

The indictments contain emails between Mace and Baker starting in June 2014 asking Baker to set up a Key Bank bank account for Mace.

Around July 15, 2015, Baker and Rohrbaugh opened a Key Bank business checking account for Speed Werks for which Baker was sole signer, the indictment states. Also around July 15, 2015, Baker and Rohrbaugh deposited the Speed Werks refund into the Key Bank account, according to the indictment.

A July 17, 2015, email from Mace to Rohrbaugh states that Mace is about two weeks away from leaving a halfway house where he was staying. Mace was an inmate in the federal prison system from November 2012 to July 2016, the indictment states.

Baker wrote three checks to Rohrbaugh about July 28, 2015, and Aug. 4, 2015, for $50,000 each, the indictment states.

The indictment discusses the purchase of several vehicles in connection to the conspiracy to commit money laundering charges each defendant faces.

Baker and Mace discussed the purchase of vehicles in emails in June and July 2015, then Baker issued checks to purchase six of them in July and August 2015, the indictment states.

Among the vehicles were two 2015 Ford Mustangs for about $43,000 each.

erunyan@tribtoday.com