Salt Lake City Escort Service Operator Found Guilty of Income Tax Evasion

WASHINGTON, March 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Jodi Hoskins, the operator of an escort service in Salt Lake City, Utah, has been found guilty of one count of tax evasion, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.  Judge Dee Benson issued his factual and legal determinations on Tuesday following a January 2010 non-jury trial.  

According to the court's findings, Hoskins was actively involved in the management and operation of Companions, an adult entertainment agency or call-out escort service doing business in Salt Lake City, from its inception in 2000.  Additionally, Hoskins was aware of all financial matters associated with Companions.  Furthermore, it was understood by phone girls and escorts that they ultimately answered to Hoskins as their boss.

According to the court's findings, Hoskins lived a lavish lifestyle in 2002.  She filed a joint income tax return with her husband, Roy Hoskins, in which she intentionally under reported the gross receipts of Companions by $1,204,354.  The total tax due and owing resulting from the tax evasion for 2002 is $485,443.  

Jodi Hoskins faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.  Judge Benson has not yet set a date for her sentencing.  Roy Hoskins, the owner of Companions, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of tax evasion in May 2009.  His sentencing is scheduled for April 15, 2010.

John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Tax Division, commended the special agents from IRS Criminal Investigation Division who investigated the case as well as Tax Division attorneys Monica Edelstein and Leigh Kessler who prosecuted the case.  Acting Assistant Attorney General DiCicco also thanked the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah for their assistance in this matter.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice