Stanley H. Block’sIRS Times & Inquirer™Read About Taxpayers with IRS Problems & Learn Helpful Tips on How To End Them. |
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| Volume VII, Issue 11 - www.mdtaxattorney.com |
Inside This Issue … |
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Tribal Chair Sentenced on Tax ChargesThe elected chair of the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado was sentenced to five months in prison and 150 hours of community services for filing a false income tax return.Judy Knight-Frank, 60, used a tribal payroll advance program to obtain substantial advances. According to the plea agreement, in 1998 Knight-Frank received a total of $153,249.01. Over a three-year period, the tribal chair received payroll advances worth $274,536.82. Knight-Frank used the payroll advances in an effort to deceive the IRS. “Those seeking to defraud the Internal Revenue Service will meet with prosecution as a just reward for their efforts,” said Anne Marie Minogue, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Denver Field Office. Fla. Man Gets Jail Time for EvasionA Florida man’s decade-old attempts to evade taxes — and then evade assessments made by the Internal Revenue Services — have resulted in a 27-month prison sentence, three years of supervised release, and an order to pay $73,935.00 in restitution.William E. Baker Jr., of Hudson, Fla., was indicted in August 2003 by a federal grand jury in a one count. Baker was found guilty of the offense at trial on January 21. Documents and other evidence presented at trial revealed that Baker had failed to file his personal income tax returns for tax years 1991, 1992, and 1993. The evidence also showed that after being assessed with a tax liability by the Internal Revenue Service, Baker took steps to evade the payment of the taxes. Ct. Exec Punished for Tax FraudMarc C. Abrahms, 56, of West Hartford, Ct., was sentenced to three years of probation for tax fraud, the first six months of which will be spent in home confinement. Abrahms will then perform 1,000 hours of community service.On March 9, Abrahms, the former president of Abrahms Group Benefits and Abrahms Life Services, in Newington, Ct., pleaded guilty to two counts of tax fraud, admitting that for the years 1997 to 2000, he filed materially false corporate income tax returns in which he improperly claimed deductions for approximately $729,000 worth of non-business-related expenses, including payments for domestic help, household services, personal travel and other expenses for the defendant’s personal benefit. Among the expenses that he claimed were vacations to Paris, Hawaii and Tahiti, as well as his son’s bar mitzvah celebration. Ala. Fast-Food Manager Gets Prison For False ReturnsRickey Dorsey of Birmingham, Ala., was sentenced to 37 months in prison for filing false income tax returns. Following prison, he will be supervised by the court for three years and required to pay more than $39,000 in restitution.Dorsey, 44, who worked as a manager of fast-food restaurant, used fictitious W-2 forms to file 64 false tax returns. Dorsey then would electronically file the returns, requesting refunds to be deposited into bank accounts he controlled. In all, Dorsey received more than $39,000 in illegal tax refunds. “Jail was an appropriate consequence for trying to cheat by this tax preparer,” said U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin. N.C. Man Convicted Of Two Felony CountsA federal jury New Bern, N.C., convicted Said Karim Hayez of two felony counts of filing false tax returns.Hayez was president and owner of Columbia Assessment Services, a company in Raleigh, N.C. As company president, Hayez carried out a complex scheme to extract over $1 million from the company to pay off personal debts. He disguised the payments as business expenses in an attempt to hide the money from the IRS. Baltimore Police Commissioner Sentenced for Tax FraudFormer Baltimore Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris, 43, was sentenced to six months in prison for his participation in a scheme to use police funds from a Baltimore City Police Department account for personal use and lying on his tax returns by failing to disclose the funds as additional income.In addition, Norris was sentenced to supervised release, 500 hours of community service, and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. In his guilty plea, Norris admitted that he used police funds to pay for $10,000 to $30,000 worth of personal expenses, including luxury hotels, expensive meals, clothing, gifts from Victoria’s Secret, and taxi services. He then did not claim the fraudulent income on his tax returns. Ct. Man Receives Probation For Failing To Pay Income TaxesAn Old Lyme, Ct., man was sentenced to four years of probation, the first six months of which will be served in home confinement, for failing to pay income taxes.Francis R. Sablone, Jr., 55, was also fined $15,000, sentenced to 200 hours of community service, and ordered to pay $58,460 in restitution. In his guilty plea, Sablone admitted to owing the IRS more than $63,000 in taxes, penalties and interest for the years 1992 and 1993. After being contacted directly by a revenue officer about his failure to pay taxes, Sablone, who is an attorney, sought to compromise his tax debt by convincing the IRS that he was incapable of paying the full amount owed. The government quickly discovered that Sablone owned real estate and a 40-foot yacht that he had not disclosed to the IRS. Del. Man Indicted For Not Reporting $500,000Ronald J. Saggese, 42, of Centerville, Del., was charged with three counts of tax evasion for the years 1996, 1997 and 1998. The indictment charges that Saggese underreported his income by about $500,000.He could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the three counts. Tucson Man Receives 189 Days In The Can For Filing False Tax FormSean David Pflug, a 43-year-old man from Tucson, Ariz., was sentenced to 189 days in prison for helping a friend file a false tax form. The form claimed that the taxpayer paid a local attorney $3.7 million in a business transaction when, in fact, no such transaction had occurred. The Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS handled the case. |
Learn how to avoid IRS problems and solve them if you find yourself with one!
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