Stanley H. Block’sIRS Times & Inquirer™Read About Taxpayers with IRS Problems & Learn Helpful Tips on How To End Them. |
 |
| Volume VII, Issue 12 - www.mdtaxattorney.com |
Inside This Issue … |
||||
Inventor Convicted of Tax FraudA San Diego, Calif., man who invented a wheel-lock system for four-wheel-drive, off-road vehicles has been convicted of tax fraud.Shortly after forming Traction Matters Inc. to market his new product, 62-year-old John Zentmyer sold the company for a cool $1 million. One problem: Zentmyer never reported income from the sale on his personal income tax return. Instead, he deposited the money in an offshore account. And the IRS found out. Zentmyer owed $264,335 in back taxes. Last month, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles convicted Zentmyer of tax evasion. He could receive up to 50 years in prison at his upcoming sentencing hearing. INS Agent Sentenced on Tax ChargesA former INS official in Nogales, Ariz., was sentenced to five months in prison after being found guilty of filing a false income tax return for the year 1998. Jose K. Livanios, 46, will also serve five months of home confinement and 60 hours of community service.Livanios, a former supervisory immigration inspector, did not report substantially more farm income from his cattle business than the $25,000 he claimed on his tax return, according to trial evidence. Government calculations showed under-reported income of $45,066 for 1998. The total under reported income from his cattle business for the years 1996, 1997 and 1998 was approximately $94,760. Dallas Man Gets 15 Months in JailA Dallas man was sentenced to 15 months in jail and ordered to pay $176,164 in restitution after making false statements on his federal income tax return.James Meyer Lowenstein was involved in Youngevity, a multi-level marketing company in the business of manufacturing and distributing “anti-aging” and nutritional supplements. Lowenstein admitted that he reported $7,086 as his adjusted gross income for 1996 when he knew he should have reported an additional $176,164 in adjusted gross income. On a corporate income tax return Lowenstein filed, he admitted that he falsely reported advertising expense of $15,928 when the correct amount was $4,910. Delaware Man Pleads Guilty to Tax EvasionA Delaware man pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion after attempting to avoid paying $114,128 in taxes.Eugene W. Hilliard, 52, of Clayton, Del., provided approximately 10 bars and clubs in the Newark, Dover and nearby Maryland area with video poker games machines. According to government evidence, Hilliard filed a false return in 1998 when he operated the Clayton Inn in Clayton, Del., and paid some of his employees under the table in an attempt to avoid withholding taxes from wages paid to employees for that quarter. He faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Phoenix Man Indicted for False ReturnsA Phoenix man was indicted for filing false income tax returns for the years 1997, 1998 and 1999.John Delo Nichols, 63, received gross income in the amounts of $136,885 in 1997, $267,491 in 1998 and $565,163.39 in 1999. However, according to the indictment against Nichols, he received substantially more in income for those years. If convicted, he faces up to one year in prison and a $25,000 fine. Village Official Indicted for Tax ChargeA public works superintendent for the Village of Streamwood, near Chicago, was charged with filing a false federal income tax return in which he allegedly failed to disclose roughly $27,175 of additional income during calendar year 2000.Timothy Holloway, 45, was charged with a single-count information that alleges that he received additional income in 2000 from American Management Resources in Morton Grove, Ill. Holloway allegedly failed to disclose the extra income on his 2000 federal income tax return, which was filed in February 2001. If convicted, Holloway could face up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Additionally, he could be required to pay back taxes and fines. Ohio Man Tried to Conceal More Than $4 Million in IncomeA Westerville, Ohio, man was convicted of trying to conceal more than $4 million in income from the Internal Revenue Service.Eugene Everett Armold, 56, was sentenced to 45 months in prison today for making false statements on income tax returns for 1999 and 2000. Armold was also ordered to pay outstanding income tax liability to the IRS to the tune of $1.5 million. In 1999, Armold claimed $450,932 in income when it was, in fact, at least $2.4 million. At trial, it was revealed that the $4 million came from Armold’s ownership of Purchase Plus Buyer’s Group. He paid himself a consulting fee by transferring the money to a Nevada corporation known as Simba Financial Inc. This corporation existed simply to receive this money and then funnel it to several other shell corporations. Armold used some of the money for personal use and funneled $3 million of it to an overseas account. He then transferred the money back to the United States for personal use. “Tax crimes steal from us all and should be punished accordingly,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory G. Lockhart in a statement. Ariz. Man Pleads Guilty to Not Filing ReturnsGustavo Adolfo Andrade, 37, of Nogales, Ariz., pleaded guilty to not filing personal income tax returns for the years 1995 to 2000 despite earning enough money in those years to make filing income tax returns mandatory. A former employee of Superior Mexican Produce, Andrade faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. |
Learn how to avoid IRS problems and solve them if you find yourself with one!
 Forward this newsletter to a friend!Know someone who might be interested in this newsletter? Simply click the "forward" button on your email client and send this newsletter to them, or send them to http://www.mdtaxattorney.com/ newsletter.html where they can read the newsletters online! Make sure to encourage them to sign up for their own copy! Get a FREE subscription!Did someone forward this newsletter to you? If so, make sure to visit our website at http://www.mdtaxattorney.com/ newsletter.html and click the link in the middle of the screen to sign up for your own free copy each month! IRS Question CornerQuestion: I never thought it would come to this: I owe the Internal Revenue Service $85,000 in back taxes and penalties, according to my accountant. It was a stupid gamble: I delayed paying taxes, hoping that my business would take off. It made money (hence the taxes owed) but never like I thought it would. I closed shop four months ago, I have a kid in college, $20,000 in my bank account, and no way to pay my tax debt. What can I do?Answer: I’ve had a number of clients with problems such as yours walk through my door. For whatever reason, some taxpayers think they can delay paying back taxes, waiting for sunnier days when they won’t need the money quite as much. In their cases, as in yours, that sunny day never came. But it’s not all doom and gloom. As an American taxpayer, you have rights and options. That’s part of what I do: present to you your best options and then help you execute them. In your situation, you likely have two options: an Offer in Compromise and an Installment Agreement. If you can prove to the government that you lack the means — and will lack the means for years to come — to pay your tax debt, you might qualify for an Offer in Compromise. In this program, you offer the IRS a settlement amount (sometimes pennies on the dollar!) that will make your debt go away once and for all. The IRS offers this program as a way to settle debts without having to chase taxpayers around the country year after year. The other option is an Installment Agreement. If you do not have the ability to pay the debt now but will have the ability to pay over time, then you can enroll in this option. It will allow you make to small monthly payments that over time will finally eliminate your tax debt. These payments are similar in size to a car payment, and although they will eventually satisfy your debt, they likely will not disrupt your present lifestyle. Why not settle your tax debt once and for all? For a free, no-risk consultation, call my office at 410-727-6006. PAST EDITIONSRead past editions of our newsletter online at http://www.mdtaxattorney.com/newsletter.html. I’d Like To Hear From YOU!Whether you’d like to avoid the IRS, contact the IRS, settle with the IRS or just want to refer a friend, relative or client, I’d love to hear from you. I would be happy to provide you or that special person you refer a no-obligation confidential consultation to explain every option available to solve IRS problems.UOIRSBLOCK@AOL.COM ACCOUNTANT@MDTAXATTORNEY.COM Thank You! Thank You!Thanks to YOU, the word is spreading. Thanks to my clients and friends who graciously referred me to their friends, clients and relatives last month! I enjoy building my business based on the positive comments and referrals from people just like you.I just couldn’t do it without you! |
|||
Stanley H. Block, P.A. & Associates
| 200 East Lexington Street Lower Suite Baltimore, MD 21202 |
(410) 727-6006 (888) 884-8686 Fax: (410) 539-6440 |
accountant@mdtaxattorney.com www.mdtaxattorney.com |