Tax crime doesn’t pay — coverage of tax fraud, evasion, and financial crime prosecutions, and what they mean for the rest of us.
A reader asked what the “per day” sentencing would be in the Wesley Snipes tax trial… What a great question! If the maximum sentence of three years was imposed for the alleged $2.7 million dollars that Wesley Snipes evaded in tax (according to prosecutors), that works out to one day served for every $2,465.75 in…
Wesley Snipes will find out today whether he will spend time in prison for convictions on three misdemeanor counts of willfully failing to file taxes. Snipes was acquitted on other misdemeanor and felony charges by a jury in February. I am exactly sure what to expect for sentencing – I thought for sure he would…
Crikey! The Australia Zoo, which was founded in the 1970s by Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin’s parents, has acknowledged that it was the victim “a highly sophisticated case of deception.” The zoo is currently being investigation as part of a massive tax-evasion scandal. The zoo has been charged with $2.3 million in outstanding debts allegedly owed…
La-Van Hawkins, who built a fortune with Burger King, Pizza Hut and Checkers Drive-In franchises across the country, has another legal battle brewing. Hawkins grew up in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing project where he was an admitted gang member and cocaine addict. He began working at a McDonalds cleaning toilets and eventually became general manager of…
One of my favorite things to post about at taxgirl.com are tax policy issues. I am particularly struck by sin taxes and revenue raisers based on what “the norm” (whatever that is) might consider to be immoral behavior. This includes taxes like the crack tax, the pimp tax and the stripper tax (note to readers:…
One of my favorite tax stories to come out of the BBC (yes, even more than the new UK budget) is the saga of Hatsue Shimizu and Yoshiko Ishii. The two Japanese sisters have been arrested for alleged tax evasion – the National Tax Agency in Japan is calling it the biggest ever case of…
Police in Des Moines weren’t dusting for thumbprints after a robbery: they were checking tax forms. A man robbed a Git-N-Go store in Des Moines last Friday after threatening a clerk, claiming that he had a gun in his jacket. He pocketed $115 for his troubles. Apparently, he felt the need to pare down after…
Lou Pearlman, former producer and puppetmaster for mega boy bands, the Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync, has agreed to plead guilty to charges including conspiracy, money laundering and bank fraud charges. Even with the plea, he still faces up to 25 years in prison and $1 million in fines – and that’s assuming there are…
German prosecutors have accused Klaus Zumwinkel, one of the country’s most prominent business executives, of tax evasion. Zumwinkel is the chief executive of Deutsche Post and head of the supervisory board of Deutsche Telekom. Zumwinkel was questioned and released by investigators after posting bail. He is suspected of evading 1 million euros (worth $1.45 million…
IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky has a special interest in the hearing for seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens. Novitzky has been at the helm of a five-and-a-half-year investigation into steroids in professional sports including drug use in Major League Baseball. Novitsky had expected to hear testimony from New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte,…