Pennsylvania Man Charged with Criminal Information for Tax Evasion

In April, the government announced that they had secured a criminal information against a Cogan Station small business owner for an alleged tax evasion scheme that lasted for nearly five years. If found guilty, the defendant faces up to five years imprisonment on top of any ordered fines or restitution.

A criminal information is what the government prosecutors may use when they choose to initiate a criminal tax evasion case against a defendant without having to go through a grand jury first. This allows the government to act quickly, resulting in taxpayers being caught off-guard by allegations.

To avoid being blindsided by IRS action against you or your small business, you can act today to enlist the help of the Dual Licensed Tax Lawyers and CPAs at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing. Call us at (800) 681-1295 to find out more about how our wide range of services could benefit you or schedule a reduced rate initial consultation online HERE.

Cogan Station Man Faces Up to Five Years in Prison Plus Fine for Allegedly Evading Taxes

Through a Department of Justice press release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced on April 20 that Devon Buck of Cogan Station, Pennsylvania had been charged in a criminal information with one count of tax evasion. The criminal information alleges that Buck, 33, made special arrangements with his small business’ clients that would aid him in underreporting the business’ gross receipts.

Buck owned and operated a landscaping business known as DCL Landscaping. Between the calendar years of 2015 and 2019, Buck prepared and delivered business invoices to clients of DCL Landscaping which requested that the clients make payments out to Buck individually rather than DCL and asked that they not include DCL’s name in any field of the check.

During the period at concern, Buck cashed more than $660,000 in client checks, while only depositing roughly $240,000 in payments into the company bank account. According to allegations, Buck then provided fraudulently created business statements and documentation to his tax preparer for use in filling out IRS Form 1040 income tax return filings and Schedule C statements of business receipts and expenses. This resulted in the underreporting of the business’s taxable income, which prosecutors estimate to amount to just over $200,000 in unpaid taxes.

Buck has not entered a plea at this time. If he is found guilty, Buck faces a potential sentence of up to five years in prison with a period of supervised release, plus the possibility of additional fines and restitution.

What is a Criminal Information for Tax Evasion Charges?

According to the Department of Justice’s announcement, Buck faces charges through a criminal information. An information functions similarly to an indictment, but there are critical differences between the two that all taxpayers should be aware of if they ever find themselves in such an unfortunate situation.

To secure a federal criminal indictment, the prosecutor must present their case to a grand jury, who investigates the allegations and determines whether the charges should be filed. If the grand jury finds that the prosecution has sufficient evidence to proceed with the charges, they then issue an indictment, which is the first step in a criminal prosecution. The requirement that prosecutors obtain an indictment comes from the 5th Amendment and is designed to protect against overly aggressive prosecutors initiating proceedings without a requisite amount of evidence to substantiate their claims.

However, an information also serves the purpose of beginning a criminal prosecution. The critical difference between an information and an indictment is that an information is not issued by a grand jury, but rather by a judicial officer, normally a magistrate judge, who makes a similar determination to what is required of a grand jury for an indictment. This allows the process of obtaining an indictment against a criminal defendant to become much faster. This can be useful to the government if they are looking to make an arrest or question a target as soon as possible.

Most federal white-collar crimes require the prosecutor to obtain an indictment, not an information, to proceed with charges. However, there are some types of federal criminal allegations where an information will suffice. Tax evasion allegations are one example of a felony that can be charged with an information.

Therefore, a prosecutor does not need to get approval from a grand jury to initiate a criminal case against a suspected tax evader. This should concern even the most honest taxpayers, as criminal tax information frequently leads to arrests.

How Can You Avoid Criminal Tax Evasion Charges Against You or Your Small Business?

It is unnaturally easy for the government to initiate a criminal investigation or court case against a taxpaying individual, even if they have not actually done anything wrong or have made honest mistakes in their past filings. While you may ultimately defeat the charges, the allegations themselves can cost you a substantial amount in time, money, and personal reputation. Therefore, it is best to get out in front of these potential consequences.

The opportunity to do so does not last long, so it is always in your best interest to reach out to one of our Dual Licensed Tax Attorneys and CPAs. The circumspect approach to tax issues that we provide can not only identify holes in your past reporting, but also provide solutions that will keep you out of a court room or a jail cell. Everyone’s situation is different, so you will want a specified assessment of your own tax standing to help you build your defenses and implement effective tax strategies.

Contact a Dual Licensed Tax Attorney and CPA Today

You can help yourself both personally and financially when you take the first step of contacting the Dual Licensed Tax Lawyers and CPAs at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing as soon as possible. You can reach us right now by calling our offices at (800) 681-1295.

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 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, KovelCPAs 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!

More Commonly Asked Tax Audit Questions

• How should Tax Audits be Handled by Criminal Tax Counsel?
• How to survive audit when I cheated on return being audited
• What is an eggshell audit?
• What is a reverse egg shell audit?
• Why is a reverse egg shell audit dangerous for a taxpayer?
• Warning signs of a criminal referral from an IRS audit
• Effective tax defense counsels goals in an egg shell audit?
• How are the 4 goals and outcomes 1 and 2 best obtained?
• What are the possible outcomes of an egg shell audit?
• Is it my right to know why I was selected for examination?
• What can I do to prepare for an audit?
• What is an IRS civil examination?
• How IRS decides which tax returns are audited
• What are my appeal options if I disagree with IRS?
• What are my basic taxpayer rights if the IRS audits me?
• Options if I am unable to pay at the conclusion of audit
• What a 30 or 90-Day Letter from the IRS means
• What is involved with appealing disagreements?
• Rights to disagree with IRS tax auditor’s findings
• Can I stop the IRS from repeatedly auditing me?
• Can I have the examination transferred to another area?
• Can I record my IRS interview and is it a good idea?
• How many years of returns are at risk during an audit?
• Common reasons for the IRS to conduct a tax audit
• How to avoid negative consequences from an IRS interview
• Have to agree to interview by taxing authority directly?
• Are all audits the same?
• What should I do if the IRS is investigating me?
• What if I don’t respond to a taxing authority audit notice
• Your rights during an IRS tax audit
• Risks of attending an IRS audit without a tax lawyer
• Most common audit technique used by taxing authorities
• Don’t go into an IRS audit without representation
• Why hire an attorney to represent me in an audit?
• Why hire David W. Klasing to represent me in an audit

Questions and Answers for Criminal Tax Representation

• When tax defense counsel parallels tax crime investigation
• Guilty of tax obstruction by backdating documents?
• To be found guilty of tax obstruction must a person actually be successful in impeding the IRS’s functions?
• Help! The Document I Gave the IRS Had False Information
• Tax crime aiding or assisting false return IRC §7206(2)
• What is the crime known as tax obstruction § 7212?
• What is the difference between tax perjury and tax evasion?
• What is the tax crime commonly known as tax perjury?
• What is a Klein Conspiracy?
• Increased possibility of civil action in IRS investigation
• Am I Guilty of Tax Evasion if the Law is Vague?
• What happens if the IRS thinks I committed tax crimes?
• What are ways to defend against a tax evasion charge?
• Difference between criminal tax evasion and civil tax fraud
• What accounting method does the IRS use for tax fraud
• Can I Change Accounting Method to the Accrual Method
• What is the willfulness requirement for tax evasion?
• I didn’t know I committed tax fraud. Can I get off?
• Concealed assets from IRS. Can I avoid tax evasion charges
• How government proves I willfully engaged in tax evasion
• What is the venue or court where a tax crime case is heard?
• Must the IRS prove tax crimes beyond a reasonable doubt?
• Is it a crime to make false statements to the IRS?
• Will the IRS overlook my tax evasion if it’s minor?
• Failed to tell IRS about my nominee account
• Audit risk with cash based business transactions
• How to defend a client charged with tax evasion
• Is it tax evasion if I didn’t file income tax return?
• Government says I attempted to evade my taxes. Now what?
• I forgot to pay my taxes or estimated tax. Is this a crime?
• Government proof I “willfully” failed to pay taxes
• 5 Ways to Respond to Tax Evasion Charges
• Being audited after using a tax professional
• Rules for what an IRS agent can do while investigating me
• How tax preparers, attorneys and accountants are punished
• How the IRS selects tax crime lead for investigation
• How does the IRS prosecute suspected tax crimes?
• Does IRS reward informant leads for suspected tax crimes?
• How the government proves deficiency in a tax evasion case
• Do prior tax crimes factor into new IRS tax convictions?
• Requesting conference before investigative report is done
• Requesting conference after IRS Special Agent Report
• What are my rights during an IRS criminal investigation?
• Avoid prosecution for tax crime with voluntary disclosure?
• Defense tactics that make it hard for to prove willfulness
• How a tax attorney can stop your criminal tax case?
• What can you generally tell me about tax crimes?
• Continuing filing requirement with investigation pending
• Federal criminal code crimes that apply to tax issues
• Penalty for making, subscribing, and filing a false return
• CID special agent’s report for criminal prosecution
• What is the discovery process in a criminal tax case?
• What the IRS includes in indictment for tax case
• What is the hardest element of a tax crime to prove?
• IRS methods of gathering evidence to prove tax crime
• What does a grand jury do in IRS tax crime prosecution?
• Failure to keep records or supply information
• Failure to make a return, supply information, or pay tax
• What is attempting to evade payment of taxes?
• What is income tax evasion and how is it punished?
• What is attempted income tax evasion?
• What is the crime of failure to pay tax? What is punishment
• Crime of making or subscribing false return or document
• Criminal Investigation Division investigation tactics
• Tax crimes related to employment tax forms and trust funds
• Tactics to defend or mitigate IRS criminal tax charges
• How the IRS generates leads about suspected tax crimes
• What is the crime ”evasion of assessment” of tax?
• Specific examples of “attempting” to evade tax assessment
• What is the so-called Spies evasion doctrine?
• Does overstating deductions constitute tax evasion?
• Is it tax evasion if my W-4 contains false statements?
• IRC §7201 attempt to evade vs. common-law crime of attempt
• What are the penalties for Spies tax evasion?
• How government proves a taxpayer attempted tax fraud
• What is a tax that was “due and owing.”
• What is evasion of assessment for tax liability?
• Is evasion of assessment different from evasion of payment
• Does the IRS have a dollar threshold for tax fraud?
• What is the IRS burden of proof for tax fraud convictions?
• Are Tax Laws Constitutional?
• What is the source of law that defines tax evasion?
• Does section 7201 create two distinct criminal offenses?
• Does tax evasion definition include partnership LLC
• What if I helped someone else evade taxes?
• Is it illegal to overstate deductions on my tax return?
• Is it illegal to conceal bank accounts from the IRS?
• Do later losses justify prior deductions?
• Common reasons the IRS and DOJ start investigations
• What is the Mens Rea component of tax crimes?
• What is a proffer agreement and what are the risks?
• Why to have an attorney to review a proffer agreement
• Why enter into a proffer agreement?
• Limited use immunity from proffer agreements
• Difference between civil and criminal fraud allegations

Questions and Answers on Unfiled Back Taxes

• What are the common issues that non-filers face?
• Risk of audit after filing delinquent prior year returns
• Can substitute return deficiency be discharge in bankruptcy
• Substitute return modified by subsequent delinquent return?
• Do I file every delinquent return for each missing year?
• How does the IRS identify non-filers?
• How important is it to the government that I didn’t file?
• Delinquent tax return criminal prosecution likelihood
• Will I get a refund on a delinquent tax year?
• What happens after enforcement action has begun?
• Should I use an attorney, EA or a CPA to represent me when I re-enter the tax system?
• Why do people drop out of the tax system?
• What happens after the IRS identifies me as a non-filer?
• IRS has not previously filed substitute returns
• Tax attorney representation when re-entering tax system
• How will the government force me to file returns?
• What penalties can IRS impose on delinquent tax filings?
• What should I do to re-enter the tax system?
• Can Law Office of David W. Klasing help me re-enter system?
• Will tax collection taken by authorities affect my credit
• I concealed bank accounts from the government
• Forgetting or failing to file tax return