Tax fraud lands Texas woman in prison

A Texas woman recently landed herself in double trouble with the law. First she was found guilty of embezzling funds from her employer, McLean Orthopedics of Nacogdoches, where she worked as an office manager. She was employed there for about 10 years. Then she entered a guilty plea to one count of filing a falsified tax return for fiscal year 2005. Tax fraud is a felony and typically carries a prison sentence. The 48-year-old woman was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, according to federal prosecutors.

In this case is the woman’s attempt to conceal the first crime manifested into the second crime. Initially, she embezzled over a million dollars from McLean Orthopedics. Then she allegedly filed a false tax return that did not include the stolen money. Federal prosecutors effectively adopted the position that she should have reported the embezzled monies on her tax return and paid taxes on the same.

Texas sees its fair share of accusations and charges on criminal tax matters. Not infrequently, tax crime charges stem from nothing more than a misunderstanding of tax law or a tax accountant’s faulty advice or accounting. Many consider prison time to be grossly unfair if tax fraud emanates from an error that could be easily made by anyone, thanks in part to an increasingly complicated tax code. People who may have cause for concern that governmental authorities are showing excessive interest in their tax affairs may wish to consider retaining the services of a specialized taxation and tax crimes attorney.

Source: Chron News, “Prison for not paying taxes on embezzled $1M,” Aug. 23, 2011