By ARTESIA DAVIS, Guardian Senior Reporter, artesia@nasguard.com

Self-proclaimed humanitarian Rudolph King said yesterday that he plans to return to California to face a charge of attempting to defraud the IRS of $2.7 million.

King, 39, was arrested on the charge on November 16, 2007. Judge Patricia Trumbull issued a no-bail arrest warrant for King last December after he escaped from the Cornell Corrections halfway house where he was being held, pending trial.

King vanished from the facility on December 23 — three days after O'Brien Thomas Knowles of Golden Gates No. 2, posted $10,000 cash bail to secure his release. As a condition of bail, King had to report to pretrial services; surrender his passport and remain in California.

The Guardian asked King about the fraud case when he appeared in the Court of Appeal in a bid to have a bankruptcy order overturned. The Supreme Court declared King bankrupt after he failed to settle an $800,000 debt with Cavalier Construction.

King told The Guardian: "I'm going back [to California.] They've set a new date."

According to the court's website, no date has been set and the arrest warrant is still outstanding.

King declined further comment on his fugitive status, saying that he wanted to deal with his local case first.

He said, "God will continue to work his purpose."

According to an indictment filed in the Northern District of California, King, while using the name Klever Rosales, filed a false claim for a tax refund of $2.7 million on September 20, 2007. The indictment alleged that Rosales, the president of Salute to Greatness, a company in Beverly Hills, California, submitted a fraudulent international money order for $2.7 million to the IRS on July 26, 2007. After making the payment, Rosales contacted the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) and requested an expedited refund because he had made the payment in error.

King faces a maximum penalty of five years and a $250,000 fine.