Window Salesman Gets 12 Years 1 Day for Tax Evasion

tax evasionA Florida salesman is facing serious time after some seemingly clever tax tap dancing. After being notified that his wages would be levied due to his failure to file for multiple years, he formed his own company and became an independent contractor for it. This allowed him to continue his evasion for several years more. Now, his run has come to an end.

Here are the details according the Department of Justice press release:

According to documents filed with the court, Thomas Daly, 53, evaded paying taxes on more than $1.5 million in income that he earned from 2002 to 2015. Except for the 2007 tax year, Daly has not filed an income tax return since 2002. He worked for a Fort Lauderdale company selling hurricane-resistant windows to residential homeowners in South Florida. In August 2009, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) notified Daly of its intent to levy his wages because of his failure to pay taxes. To obstruct the IRS’s collection efforts, Daly established his own business, South Florida Home Marketing Inc. (SFHM), and changed his employment status from an employee to an independent contractor. Daly listed himself as the director of SFHM and opened a business bank account in its name. Due to Daly’s change in employment status, his employer paid SFHM directly and the IRS’s attempts to levy Daly’s wages were thwarted.

 

From approximately August 2009 through April 2017, Daly used SFHM’s bank account to pay for personal expenses, including rent, cigars, international travel, entertainment, his girlfriend’s cosmetic surgery, jewelry, and a boat. He also falsely classified numerous personal expenses as business expenses on the memo line of the checks drawn on the SFHM bank account. Daly admitted that he made these false entries with the intent to claim false business expense deductions and evade the assessment of his income taxes. Daly admitted that his actions caused a tax loss of more than $351,241.

 

In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra ordered Daly has been ordered to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $459,481.03 in restitution to the IRS.

 

Failure to file can be considered a criminal tax matter in some cases. In the event you have have failed to file your tax returns, contact an experienced tax law firm, like Robert J. Fedor Esq., LLC. We can return you to compliance and peace of mind.

Download IRS Criminal Tax Fraud eBook