Man in Clarksville Guilty of Tax Fraud
A man in Clarksville had pleaded guilty in a federal court for the crime of filing a false tax income on January 14, 2013.
The man’s name was James Robert Sanford, 53, and in addition to filing a false tax income he was also guilty for aiding and abetting a false claim for a federal income tax refund. Jerry E. Martin, an Attorney for Tennessee, officially announced the news.
Sanford had brushes with the law a couple of years before this incident. On November 30, 2011, Sanford had been indicted by a federal grand jury in Nashville, and was charged with 6 counts of filing false income tax returns. Based on the indictment filed, Sanford had prepared and filed 2006 and 2007 federal income tax returns for him and his wife, knowing full well that the returns were fraudulent. The 2006 tax return claimed refunds of $5,774 and the 2007 tax return claimed refunds of $4,276.
Not only has Sanford filed false income tax returns for himself, but he did it for others as well, making a profit through his schemes. The returns that he claimed for these refunds for others were from $3,490 to $7,128.
Sanford will be sentenced on April 8, and he is likely to face a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment, in addition to a $250,000 fine for each false income tax return he made. He has come clean for all the false income tax returns he has claimed, and will be sentenced by Chief Judge William J. Haynes, Jr.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, Tax Evasion, Tax Law Tags: federal income tax, federal tax, federal tax fraud, income tax, tax crime, tax evasion, tax fraud
Florida Prisoner Caught Filing Fraudulent Federal Income Tax Returns
It seems that prison isn’t a good enough reason to keep you from cheating on your federal income tax.
WJHG (Source Below) has reported that Michael William Joseph III, an inmate of the Apalachee Correctional Institution in Florida, has pleaded guilty for filing fraudulent federal income tax returns to the IRS. This wouldn’t be Joseph’s first conviction of tax fraud, however. He has been serving time for faking federal income tax returns dating all the way back to 2006.
Prison, however, hasn’t kept Joseph from trying to scam the government with some fake federal income tax returns. He had filled out a series of tax forms with fabricated amounts of income and deductions. He had used the identities of his co-inmates in order to validate his returns. The illegitimately refunded federal income tax would then be deposited to various accounts he had control over.
What had tipped off Joseph’s tax scam was the size of his illegal refunds. Joseph had sought a total of nearly $180,000 in federal income tax returns. For a time it seemed that Joseph had managed to pull his scheme off when the government cashed him out for an alleged $50,000.
But investigators quickly got wind of his scam and successfully retrieved over $17,500 of the unlawfully refunded federal income tax from his personal bank account. An additional $11,600 was found in the mother’s ex-husband’s backyard.
The fifty three year old Joseph was indicted on various charges including but not limited to filing false federal income tax returns. Other charges include theft and mail fraud, amounting to a prison sentence of up to twenty years.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, State Tax, Tax Evasion, Tax Law Tags: avoiding taxes, federal income tax, federal tax, income tax, IRS, tax code, tax court, tax crime, tax evasion, tax fraud
The Consequences Of Tax Evasion In The UK
It is the job of the HM Revenue & Customs office, otherwise known as HMRC, to collect taxes from United Kingdom citizens, and it also will monitor tax payments to ensure compliance. If the HMRC has reason to believe that you may be evading payment of taxes, an investigation will be initiated, and you may face a number of consequences. As a resident of the United Kingdom, it is important to understand this process and the possible penalties.
The Investigation
The HMRC may conduct periodic checks of citizens to ensure compliance with taxation laws, and through these checks, the HMRC may determine that evidence is present indicating tax fraud or evasion. In other cases, a concerned citizen may provide the HMRC a tip that will instigate the investigative process. The investigative process involves the HMRC contacting you directly, and you may choose to comply and participate with the investigation or not. However, the investigation will proceed without your participation. Because of this, it may be in your best interest to work with the HMRC and to provide all documents and supporting evidence requested in a timely manner. Keep in mind that you are permitted to have professional representation during any meetings with the HMRC.
The Process
If your tax payment status is investigated by the HMRC, you may be asked to provide supporting documents or to prepare a disclosure statement to corroborate the amount of taxes that you paid. The HMRC may conduct its own investigation as well, and it may review your tax documents, receipts, bank statements and other financial data. The process may involve several meetings and hearings. Ultimately, the HMRC may determine that evasion did not occur, or you may be required to pay additional taxes. If additional taxes are owed, you may also need to pay interest charges and penalties.
The Consequences
The consequences of tax evasion in the United Kingdom can be damaging in a number of ways. Because those who are caught evading taxes must pay interest charges and penalties on the taxes originally due, there is considerable financial expense associated with this. In addition, many people will choose to pay for professional representation during this process, and there is cost associated with this. The names of those who are caught evading taxes will be published, and there may be an element of public humiliation that a tax evader will be forced to deal with. In addition, some cases of tax evasion may result in criminal charges, and this may cause the guilty party to face additional legal issues. As a final note, those who are caught evading taxes in the United Kingdom often will have their tax returns reviewed more carefully by the HMRC in the future, so there will be added pressure on the individual to ensure that their tax returns are filed truthfully and accurately.
Tax evasion is a serious matter in the United Kingdom, and it can have costly and long-term consequences on your life. The HMRC may be more lenient on those who come forward with their actions or who comply with investigations.
Sally is a content specialist for Francis Clark Tax Consultancy, a business based in South West England who provide tax consultancy services to over 400 firms, visit FCTC.co.uk to find out more.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, Tax Evasion, Tax Law Tags: tax evasion, taxation, taxes, united kingdom