From the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing - Las Vegas Man Sentenced to Federal Prison After Criminal Tax Conviction

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a Department of Justice press release, a Las Vegas man was recently sentenced to serve more than a year in federal prison for committing federal tax crimes related to his real estate business. This story exemplifies the huge risk that taxpayers who choose to willfully violate federal tax laws take. If you have failed to truthfully file your tax returns or have failed to file a tax returns altogether, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced tax defense attorney as soon as possible to discuss your options to come into compliance without facing criminal tax prosecution.

Defendant Underreported Income, Will Spend More Than a Year in Prison

A couple from Las Vegas Nevada were engaged in the real estate and interior design businesses, respectively. Prosecutors alleged that between 2005 and 2020, the defendants filed tax returns that did not properly reflect their true income. After an IRS audit and the determination that the couple owed far more taxes than they had paid when filing their tax returns, Department of Justice attorneys argued that the couple engaged in various evasive tactics to intentionally avoid paying their correct tax liabilities. Such tactics included cashing large portions of their paychecks, thereby avoiding the effect of IRS levies and other collection methods. Additionally, the couple was accused of failing to pay their 2014 through 2018 federal tax bill, altogether.

This case illustrates that there are two different methods of committing tax evasion. Evasion of assessment or cheating in completing a tax return by fraudulently understating income or overstating expenses, and evasion of payment. Evasion of payment involves taking illegal actions to prevent the IRS from engaging in collection enforcement actions to collect taxes that have been legally assessed and thus due and owing. 

A federal grand jury indicted the couple on counts related to conspiring to defraud the United States, tax evasion, filing a false tax return, assisting in the filing of a false tax returns and failing to file tax returns and pay federal income taxes. The husband plead guilty to one count of tax evasion.

Recently, a federal judge sentenced him to one year and one day in federal prison. Additionally, He was sentenced to two years of supervised release. Lastly, he was ordered to pay nearly $2 million in restitution to the U.S. government.

Seeking the Assistance of an Experienced Tax Attorney to Come Back into Compliance without facing Criminal Tax Prosecution

While engaging in legitimate tax planning strategies for yourself or your business is not illegal, taking steps to illegally reduce your taxable income or otherwise undermine tax collection is playing with fire and in many cases, defendants, like the one above, get burned.

If you have failed to file a tax return for one or more years or have taken a position on a tax return that could not be substantiated upon audit, it is in your best interest to contact a seasoned tax attorney. Together, you will work to develop a strategy to get right with the government.

If you have failed to file a tax return for one or more years or have taken a position on a tax return that could not be supported upon an IRS or state tax authority audit, eggshell audit, reverse eggshell audit, or criminal tax investigation, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced tax defense attorney to determine your best route back into federal or state tax compliance without facing criminal prosecution.

Note: As long as a taxpayer that has willfully committed tax crimes (potentially including non-filed foreign information returns coupled with affirmative evasion of U.S. income tax on offshore income) self-reports the tax fraud (including a pattern of non-filed returns) through a domestic or offshore voluntary disclosure before the IRS has started an audit or criminal tax investigation / prosecution, the taxpayer can ordinarily be successfully brought back into tax compliance and receive a nearly guaranteed pass on criminal tax prosecution and simultaneously often receive a break on the civil penalties that would otherwise apply. 

It is imperative that you hire an experienced and reputable criminal tax defense attorney to take you through the voluntary disclosure process. Only an Attorney has the Attorney Client Privilege and Work Product Privileges that will prevent the very professional that you hire from being potentially being forced to become a witness against you, especially where they prepared the returns that need to be amended, in a subsequent criminal tax audit, investigation or prosecution.

Moreover, only an Attorney can enter you into a voluntary disclosure without engaging in the unauthorized practice of law (a crime in itself). Only an Attorney trained in Criminal Tax Defense fully understands the risks and rewards involved in voluntary disclosures and how to protect you if you do not qualify for a voluntary disclosure.

As uniquely qualified and extensively experienced Criminal Tax Defense Tax Attorneys, Kovel CPAs and EAs, our firm provides a one stop shop to efficiently achieve the optimal and predictable results that simultaneously protect your liberty and your net worth. See our Testimonials to see what our clients have to say about us!

If you are facing federal or California aggressive collection action don't get creative in dealing with it and try and outsmart that tax collector or you could be criminally prosecuted for evasion of payment. Let us assist you to work out a viable collection alternative.

We Are Here for You

Regardless of your business or estate needs, the professionals at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing are here for you. We are open for business and our team will help ensure that your business is too. Contact the Law Offices of David W. Klasing today to discuss your business with one of our professionals.

In addition to our fully staffed main office in downtown Irvine California, the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing has unstaffed (conference room only) California based satellite offices in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Panorama City, Oxnard, San Diego, Bakersfield, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Carlsbad, Sacramento. We also have unstaffed (conference room only) satellite offices in Las Vegas Nevada, Salt Lake City Utah, Phoenix Arizona & Albuquerque New Mexico, Austin Texas, Washington DC, Miami Florida and New York New York that solely handle Federal & California Tax issues.  

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Public Contact: Dave Klasing Esq. M.S.-Tax CPA, [email protected]

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