In unrelated cases two businessmen were recently sentenced to prison for evading Federal Income Taxes.
The first case deals with a New Jersey man who co-owned and operated a wholesale adult paraphernalia business in New York. He received a 19 month sentence for failing to report more than $1.2 million of income from the business. He pled guilty to tax evasion stemming from his diversion of funds from his business to undisclosed foreign bank accounts in India and other locations.
From 2006 through 2009 the businessman funneled business receipts into personal bank accounts held by various individuals including himself and his family. He then had some of these funds transferred to several offshore bank accounts at HSBC. In addition, he made corporate checks to himself and other family members in identical amounts to bills from his business vendors. These checks were deposited into bank accounts he controlled and he failed to report the income from this deposits.
The plea agreement required him to pay approximately $279,000 to the IRS.
In the second case, an Oregon owner of a software business was sentenced to eight years of federal prison time for refusing to pay his income taxes. The individual founded a software company that did most of its business through federal contracts. The businessman claimed his religious beliefs prohibited him from paying taxes. The IRS assessed the taxpayer with $7.1 million in back taxes, interest and penalties. The businessman refused to help his court appointed lawyer with his defense and did not represent himself. In fact, he told his attorney not to make an opening statement or to cross-examine any witnesses. The defendant told the Judge that paying income taxes to the government was a violation of the gifts God has given him.
The IRS seized gold bars from the businessman worth $ 1 million that he bought in his attempt to avoid paying income taxes. The IRS is attempting to locate another $4 million in gold believed to have been purchased by the businessman.
It has long been settled by the courts that there is no exception for failing to pay your income taxes based upon religious beliefs. If you need to file back tax returns or require other tax resolution services, contact the tax professionals at East Coast Tax Consulting Group for a free consultation.