Namesake donors of WWU building had $36M tax evasion case

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Two donors whose names will grace a new building at Western Washington University thanks to a $10 million gift were involved in a significant federal tax evasion case in 2004.

Fred Kaiser and Grace Borsari's entwined corporations were required to pay $36 million after prosecutors accused them of dodging taxes.

The Western Front, the student newspaper at Western, reported about their background Wednesday.

Kaiser and Borsari founded Alpha Technologies, which supplies backup power equipment for telecommunications customers.

Their pledge, the largest in the school's history, is going toward a new building for electrical engineering, computer science and energy science programs.