What is Alleged in the Indictment Against the Lucidonios?
As noted above, the Lucidonios were charged with
conspiracy to defraud the IRS,
tax evasion, and
filing false tax returns. From 2006 to 2016, the indictment alleges that the Lucidonios hid from the IRS more than $8 million in receipts by depositing only a portion of Tony Luke’s receipts into business bank accounts and filing false business and personal tax returns that substantially understated their income. Furthermore, it alleges that, through a scheme in which they paid only some of their employees’ wages “on the books,” while
paying the rest under the table, the Lucidonios committed employment tax fraud because they
failed to withhold and remit the necessary amounts of payroll taxes. From 2014 to 2015, their quarterly employment tax returns are alleged to have seriously understated wages paid and taxes due for those years.
Another interesting piece of information from the indictment is that the Lucidonios got spooked during an
unrelated legal dispute over franchising rights in 2015. They feared that someone would leak information about their tax fraud scheme to the IRS, or the scheme would otherwise be uncovered in the course of the legal proceedings surrounding the franchise dispute. Instead of using this as a chance to contact a
veteran dual licensed Tax Attorney and CPA like those at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, who may have been able to help them get back into compliance, the Lucidonios
amended prior-year tax returns to increase reported sales, but then falsely offset the increased income by
fraudulently inflating expenses. These actions possibly helped spark a
criminal tax investigation from the IRS.
If You Have Committed Past Acts of Willful Tax Fraud and Want to Get Back into Compliance without facing criminal tax prosecution, Call Our Battle-Tested Tax Attorneys Today
Just like most crimes, most of the time, willful tax fraud will catch up to you, and the longer you wait to let your wrongdoings be exposed, the more likely you are to face severe criminal penalties, including jail time & poverty inducing restitution. Unlike most crimes, tax fraud can be converted into purely a civil issue if you knock on the governments door before then bust your door in by making a timely, complete and accurate domestic or offshore voluntary disclosure. Luckily, if you get into contact with a skilled
dual licensed Tax Attorney and CPA like those at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing before an audit or criminal tax investigation is opened, we can ordinarily bring you back into compliance without the assessment of criminal tax charges against you or the entities you own.
If a high risk “egg shell” audit has already begun, we will help you
survive it while minimizing the assessment of additional tax, penalties and interest and avoid your audit developing into a criminal tax investigation thus
avoiding a criminal tax prosecution. Contact our office today at (661) 432-1480 to set up a consultation or
schedule online here.