Kansas City, Kan. ? The former national marketing chief for a defunct tax advice company pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges of mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the government.

Todd Eugene Strand, 36, of Murrieta, Calif., is the sixth person to plead guilty in connection with Renaissance, The Tax People Inc. A state judge shut down the Topeka-based company’s business in Kansas in May 2001 for operating what he called an illegal pyramid scheme.

U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren said Monday that as the company’s national marketing director, Strand peddled a fraudulent “tax relief system.”

In his plea, Strand admitted the conspiracy defrauded Renaissance customers of more than $75 million and cost the government more than $20 million in lost tax revenue.

Strand faces a potential maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.