Missouri Man Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Tax Evasion

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According to a Department of Justice press release, a Missouri man was recently sentenced to serve three years without parole after being convicted of tax evasion. This story exemplifies the likelihood of severe civil and criminal consequences for those who attempt to skirt federal and state income tax laws. If you have failed to file a tax return for one or more years, or have filed a tax return with false or misleading information, that could not be supported upon an IRS or state tax audit, egg shell audit, reverse eggshell audit or criminal tax investigation it is in your best interest to contact an experienced tax defense attorney to determine your options to come into tax compliance.

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 disclosurebefore 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!

Defendant Failed to File a Tax Return for Several Years, Provided False Info to His Tax Preparer When He Tried to Catch Up

Court records reveal that Duane Dixon, 59, of Sedalia, Missouri, failed to timely file tax returns for multiple years starting in 2005. In 2010, Dixon hired a tax preparer to get him caught up through the 2010 tax year. Unbeknownst to the tax preparer, Dixon had provided information that dramatically understated his taxable income. Dixon’s omissions to his tax preparer resulted in an underpayment of tax of more than $235,000 with penalties and interest totaling an additional $400,000. During the same period, Dixon racked up a tax bill of more than $50,000 with the state of Missouri that also went unpaid.

Between 2005 and 2013, the IRS attempted to collect taxes from Dixon and sent him various correspondences to that effect. During that same period, Dixon filed for bankruptcy several times, attempting to have his tax debt extinguished by a federal court. Although his attempts were fruitless, he furthered his attempt to evade the payment of taxes by lying to IRS agents about his true amount of income and assets. Dixon purchased several real estate properties and rented them to tenants under a business formed as an LLC. When asked by the IRS whether he had any interest in a business entity, he responded in the negative. After the IRS learned of the assets owned by his LLC, they placed alter ego liens on the properties. Subsequently, Dixon transferred those properties to his adult children for no consideration.

Dodging Tax Debt Can Result in Serious Civil and Criminal Consequences

The Department of Justice noted in their filings that instead of paying his tax debt, the defendant used the substantial income he earned for lifestyle expenses such as luxury vehicles and motorcycles. In addition to being sentenced to three years in federal prison with no parole, Dixon was ordered to pay restitution of nearly $640,000.

Over the next 36 months, the defendant will likely reflect on the things that he could have done differently to avoid a stint in federal prison. One of those things could have been discussing his set of circumstances with a tax defense attorney. A seasoned tax lawyer will work with a taxpayer to determine their level of civil or criminal exposure. Then, a taxpayer and their tax attorney will jointly determine the best strategy to move forward and bring the taxpayer into compliance. All the while, the taxpayer will not have to go up against the IRS alone.

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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 main office in Irvine, the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing has unstaffed (conference room only) satellite offices in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Panorama City, Oxnard, San Diego, Bakersfield, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Carlsbad and Sacramento.

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