Each year as the filing deadline for filing personal tax returns approaches, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice seem to increase the number of publicized cases in which they are involved. As one U.S. Attorney bluntly states, "As taxpayers prepare to file their returns, they should know that the Department of Justice and the IRS are actively investigating and prosecuting those who attempt to shirk their civic duty to pay their fair share."
Let's take a quick look at a few of the tax-related indictments which have arisen in the past week:
* A Virginia pharmacist was indicted after he allegedly told his employer to stop withholding state and federal income taxes from his paychecks. The indictment also accused the pharmacist of failing to file federal tax returns from 2001 until at least 2007, and for allegedly setting up multiple limited liability companies to disguise and conceal assets and transactions.
* An Ohio man is charged with tax evasion for allegedly failing to report portions of his income earned in 2005 through a skilled-gaming business he owns in a purported attempt to evade tax liability, and he is also accused of paying no taxes in 2006 and 2007, despite the Government's claim that he had a combined taxable income of $329,420 and owes a total of $80,916 in back taxes for those two years.
* A California man is facing tax evasion charges for allegedly failing to file income tax returns for calendar years 2004, 2005 and 2006, despite having income in those years of $870,000 (2004), $838,000 (2005), and $206,000 (2006). The Government claims that the taxes owed added up to approximately $622,000. The indictment also asserts that the defendant falsely denied to IRS agents that he had received personal income from his business and falsely accused a corporate officer of embezzling from the company.
* A Florida man is accused of evading taxes by failing to report a $102,000 broker's commission on his tax return. The Government claims that the defendant and his wife listed their taxable income for 2005 as $121,826 when it was nearly double that -- $237,468. The couple owed $58,956 in taxes but paid less than half that, according to federal officials.
If you receive a summons and/or a search and seizure warrant from the IRS or FBI, you should immediately contact an experienced federal criminal defense attorney. As these latest rash of tax evasion charges show, the Government is committed to pursuing and ultimately prosecuting those whom they view as tax criminals.
