WASHINGTON — A New York couple has been sentenced to prison for their roles in a long-running scheme that involved extortion and money laundering Tuesday. The scheme also involved the couple's son who pretended to be a New York mobster to get a Maryland man to embezzle more than $2 million from his D.C. employer.
Back in April of 2018, a Federal grand jury indicted both Archie Kaslov, 55, and Candy Evans, 52, as well as their three sons; Tony Evans, Corry Evans, and Robert Evans as well as Robert's common-law ex-wife Gina Russell. All five were arrested on multiple charges related.
According to a release from the U.S. State's Attorney's Office, Kaslov, Evans, their sons and Russel conspired with another woman to extort money and gold bars from a man in Maryland, leading the man to begin embezzling funds from his job for around three months in 2017.
The victim took the embezzled funds and converted them to cash and gold bars. Believing the money he was handing over was going to mobsters to whom the New York woman was indebted, he then drove to New York where he visited multiple drop-off spots.
In reality, all of the funds the Maryland man embezzled and delivered went to members of the Evans-Kaslov family.
Kaslov pleaded guilty back in Sept. 2020 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As a condition for his guilty plea, Kaslov admitted that he drove members of his family around New York with cash they obtained from the extortion scheme they had been running. On one occasion, Kaslov drove to the New York diamond district on 47th Street, where he and multiple family members spent tens of thousands of dollars on watches, including Rolexes, according to the U.S. Attorney's office of D.C.
Kaslov also admitted that, after the Maryland man brought approximately $2 million in gold bars, Kaslov and others turned around and sold the gold bars for cash.
Kaslov also traveled to Texas in May of 2017 where he and a family member paid more than $300,000 to purchase a Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead from a car dealer. In January 2020, Kaslov and Candy Evans sold that Rolls Royce in New Jersey for $120,000.
Candy Evans plead guilty in Sept 2020 to tampering with a witness by corrupt persuasion or misleading conduct. As part of her guilty plea, she admitted that once the FBI began its investigation, she helped the New York woman, whom the Maryland man met on Backpage to lie to people, including the FBI according to documents.
In April 2017, Candy Evans, believing that married individuals could not be compelled to testify against each other, advised the New York woman and Russell to get married to prevent such testimony about the scheme in Court. The New York woman and Russell married at City Hall in New York, which ultimately did not work.
Candy Evans then panicked even more and wanted a letter that would exonerate her, Kaslov, and their three sons from any involvement in the scheme to get money from the Maryland man.
Candy then told Russell and the New York woman to sign a handwritten, notarized confession attempting to fully implicate themselves and to exonerate Candy Evans, Kaslov and their sons.
When the New York woman was set to meet with the FBI, Candy Evans counseled and helped the woman to lie by telling the FBI that there actually had never been an extortion scheme and that the Maryland man had invented the entire story about mobsters to justify why he embezzled money from his employer, according to US attorney's office.
In Oct 2017, days after the FBI executed their search warrants at multiple Evans-Kaslov family members’ homes, Candy Evans called an FBI special agent, who happened to be investigating this case. She told him that Kaslov and two of her other sons had not done anything illegal and that it was just Tony Evans, Russell and the New York woman who had committed the crimes. In Nov. 2017, prior to Russell’s interview with the FBI, Candy Evans also instructed Russell to lie to the FBI.
Kaslov was sentenced to 30 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The first six months of his time on supervised release must be spent in home detention.
Candy Evans was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Evans, too, must spend the first six months of her supervised release in home detention.
Consistent with their plea agreements, each defendant was ordered to pay $4,217,542 in restitution. Kaslov also was ordered to pay $1,057,682 in a forfeiture money judgment.
Kaslov and Candy Evans are the second and third defendants to be sentenced in connection with this case. In Sept. 2018, their son, Tony Evans pleaded guilty to interference with interstate commerce by extortion. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
Their son, Robert Evans pleaded guilty in April 2021 to interference with interstate commerce by extortion. He is awaiting sentencing. Russell also pleaded guilty in July 2019 to interference with interstate commerce by extortion and is awaiting sentencing. Charges remain outstanding against Corry Evans who has pleaded not guilty.