On Nov.7, 2014, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Joel Field, of Marion, was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison, four months in a halfway house, four months home confinement, three years supervised release and ordered to pay $353,778 in restitution and fines. In May 2014, Field pleaded guilty to evading payment of his federal income taxes for the years 1997 through 2001. According to court documents, when the IRS attempted to collect the outstanding amount of taxes owed by Field, which was in excess of $140,000, Field misled the IRS by failing to report assets and income and by submitting false information regarding foreclosure proceedings. Furthermore, Field transferred assets in an effort to conceal those assets from the IRS. Field also filed false federal income tax returns for the years 2006 through 2009 where he failed to report over $620,000 in income that he earned through his companies.
On Oct. 30, 2014, in Detroit, Michigan, Bradley T. McKouen, of Clarkston, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, two years supervised release and ordered to pay $319,000 in restitution. McKouen pleaded guilty to tax evasion in April 2014. According to court documents, during the 2008 tax year, McKouen was the president and sole member of Delta Staffing, LLC, an employee leasing company located in Clarkston, Michigan. Delta was a Schedule C company, meaning its profits were to be reported on Schedule C as a part of McKouen’s personal federal income tax return. In 2008, Delta’s gross receipts were approximately $5.7 million. However, McKouen reported $0 gross receipts on his return. He also reported $0 business income, $0 taxable income, and $0 income tax. In 2008, McKouen’s actual taxable income was approximately $299,000 and his tax due was approximately $110,000. Under the terms of his plea agreement, McKouen is also being held responsible for filing similar zero-income returns for the years 2004-2007. In all, he failed to report $15 million in gross income and evaded $319,000 in federal income taxes for the years 2004-2008.’’
On Nov. 5, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois, Paul West was sentenced to 37 months in prison and ordered to pay $582,934 in restitution. West pleaded guilty to two counts of filing false tax returns. According to court documents, West, aka Thomas Wilson and Tom Wilson, sold materials for recycling, including scrap cardboard. In 2007 and 2011, West under-reported his income from his recycling services and gambling, reporting that he owed little or no taxes. For six other years between 2004 and 2011, he failed to file any individual income tax returns, despite gross receipts and gambling income over all eight years totaling $3,190,741.