Builder Charged with Tax Evasion, Fraud, After Year on the Run
When the federal government goes after an individual for tax crimes the process usually occurs in stages. Each stage represents an instance during which opportunities may exist for mitigating the effects and perhaps reducing the chances of a case coming to full prosecution.
Whether the person under investigation is somewhere in the Washington, D.C., area or some other part of the country, the wise response to allegations of tax evasion or fraud is the enlistment of experienced legal counsel.
Very often the stories that seem to get the greatest attention are those that involve allegations at the global level. Swiss bank accounts and suspected unreported assets capture the headlines. But that doesn’t mean anyone is flying under the radar.
Take the example of the case of the 49-year-old general contractor from Pueblo, Colorado. He was recently arrested and is due back in court tomorrow. Authorities apparently had been seeking him for more than a year.
According to the indictment issued by a federal grand jury in Denver, the construction company owner willfully failed to file income tax returns in 2005, 2006 and 2007. He also is alleged to have failed to pay self-employment taxes as required. It’s unclear from the reports what the Internal Revenue Service claims is his tax liability.
In addition to the evasion allegations, the builder is suspected of having attempted to defraud the government by fabricating U.S. Treasury checks totaling more than $300,000 in 2009 and 2010.
The grand jury indictment alleges that the man also attempted to shield assets and further the evasion efforts through the setting up of trusts.
Source:DenverPost.com, “Pueblo man arrested on tax evasion, bank-fraud charges,” Howard Pankratz, June 28, 2013
