It turns out that May was a pretty good month for Helio Castroneves.
On last Friday, the last remaining criminal charge against Castroneves – for conspiracy – was dropped. The month before, Castroneves was acquitted of six counts of tax evasion; the jury did not reach a verdict on the conspiracy charge. The feds initially indicated that they might pursue the remaining charge but in the end, decided against it.
Two days later, Castroneves won the Indianapolis 500 for the third time in his career. His winning speed? 150.318 mph. He remained near the top of the leaderboard for most of the race.
“Once I got in the front, it was, ‘Never look back,’” Castroneves said.
Now, with a historic win #4 looming before him – and his tax woes behind him – Castroneves has reason to keep looking ahead.
The jury has finally reached a verdict in the Helio Castroneves tax evasion case. There were no scorecards but Castroneves still came out a winner: a federal jury acquitted Castroneves on six counts of tax evasion but hung on one count of conspiracy following a seven week trial and six days of deliberation. Chances are that prosecutors will not pursue the conspiracy charge.
The jury also acquitted Katiucia Castroneves, who was Castroneves’ sister and business manager, on tax evasion counts but hung on the count of conspiracy.
Castroneves’ attorney, Alan Miller, was found not guilty on all three counts of tax evasion and one count of conspiracy.
Castroneves reacted by thanking his fans and saying, “Instead of going to Disneyland, I want to go to Long Beach to race. I’m going back to racing.” He is scheduled to race at this weekend’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
So there. I managed to call one of these correctly… That crazy Wesley Snipes verdict through me for a loop.
A federal jury has reached a partial verdict in the Helio Castroneves tax evasion trial but Federal Judge Donald Graham isn’t saying much more than that. The jury has reached a decision on two charges but appears to be hung on the four other tax evasion counts and one conspiracy count. The Judge has asked the jury to try again.
The jury reached a similar “partial verdict” against Castroneves’ sister and business manager, Katuicia Castroneves. They have a full verdict against Castroneves’ attorney Alan Miller.
I’m terrible at guessing verdicts (though remarkably adept at guessing the scores at Castroneves’ old haunt, Dancing With the Stars). My guess is that the full verdict against the attorney means “not guilty” verdicts all around so far. I think they’re hung on a possible “guilty” for one or more of the counts against Castroneves and his sister because they think he did something wrong but can’t figure out what exactly. But again, just a guess. Maybe we’ll know for sure in a few days.
On the day that the new season of “Dancing With the Stars” debuts, the former DWTS champ did some fancy footwork of his own in his first day of court. Helio Castroneves and his sister Katiucia Castroneves, together with their lawyer, Alan Miller, faced prosecutors on the first day of a federal tax trial alleging conspiracy and tax evasion charges. If convicted, the three could be sentenced to more than six years in federal prison.
The IRS says that Castroneves, his sister and lawyer, conspired to hide millions of dollars in licensing fees from Penske Racing to avoid taxation. Castroneves claims, however, that he didn’t have access to the fees from Penske and wasn’t planning on avoid avoiding taxation once he controlled the funds. The key is whether the IRS can prove that Castroneves did not have control of the funds.
Under the doctrine of “constructive receipt” a taxpayer is responsible for reporting income when it’s made available, and not simply when the taxpayer chooses to take the money. The government alleges that Castroneves has been in constructive receipt of $5 million that he has not reported.
When Castroneves negotiated his $6 million licensing deal with Penske Racing, he received $1 million; the $5 million was to be paid to a Panamanian corporation called Seven Promotions. However, Castroneves’ lawyer reportedly asked that Penske hold the funds; Penske’s general counsel confirmed this during trial today. Penske retained the money until January 2003 when the funds were finally delivered to a firm in the Netherlands.
Assistant US Attorney Matt Axelrod argued that the money was taxable once the funds were available, saying, “The individual’s wishes do not control. A taxpayer may not deliberately turn his back upon income and thereby select the year for which he will report it.”
Castroneves’ attorney, however, claims that the money was part of a “deferred royalty agreement” and only taxable when paid. The money was reportedly to be paid out in 2009.
The trial resumes tomorrow and is expected to last a month.
