Quite a bit more on the tax evasion front this last week. As a Cubs fan I’m used to seeing strike outs (Cubs pitchers have led the league in strike outs recently). Here are two individuals that have struck out (in tax evasion). The final story is baseball related.
Let’s start in Lutherville, Maryland. Henry Cole was a Realtor specializing in commercial property. He reported over $2 million in capital gains on his tax return. Luckily, he had quite a bit of losses to offset those gains. One problem: The gains were really ordinary income. A second problem: He forgot $98,000 more of income. A third problem: The IRS discovered this. That’s three strikes, and Mr. Cole, guilty of filing false tax returns and tax evasion, was sentenced to three years at ClubFed.
I’ve said many times that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Back in 2002 the IRS and Department of Justice obtain a civil injunction against Joseph Sweet and EDM Enterprises. Mr. Sweet’s program was a book on creating a trust; his materials noted, GOOD NEWS For FORM 1040 Filers: Your Compliance is Strictly VOLUNTARY! BAD NEWS For The IRS! Everything You Ever Needed to Know About the Income Tax That the IRS Is Afraid You’ll Find Out. The injunction put a stop to Mr. Sweet’s business. Mr. Sweet sold a book on trusts and also the trusts themselves that purported to shield your income from the IRS. In reality, all those trusts did was enrich Mr. Sweet.
Now if you or I were told to stop selling something we’d likely get the idea and move on to something else. Well, you can’t keep a good man down…or a bad one (in the view of the DOJ). The IRS and Department of Justice accuse Mr. Sweet of not taking the hint of what an injunction means. As reported in the Bradenton Herald, the new indictment—a criminal indictment—reports that Mr. Sweet told an undercover IRS agent that the permanent injunction issued in 2002 “…was a joke and had no bearing on his activities.”
The new indictment is for criminal contempt. It appears that the IRS taped Mr. Sweet allegedly attempting to market his untrustworthy trusts. Mr. Sweet is facing a very lengthy term at ClubFed if found guilty.
Finally, Jerry Koosman had a lengthy career as a pitcher in the major leagues, mostly with the New York Mets. Mr. Koosman is facing a misdemeanor charge of failing to file a tax return and will plead guilty later this month in Madison, Wisconsin. Mr. Koosman’s attorney, Robert Bernhoft (you may remember that Mr. Bernhoft was also one of Wesley Snipes’ attorneys and that we corresponded following the verdicts in the Snipes case) noted that he would be much freer to discuss the case following the pleading. I do want to note that Mr. Koosman is cooperating with the US Attorney, and while he could be sentenced to up to one year in prison I suspect that the sentence will likely be probation and/or a fine.