Friday, June 21, 2019

Former DOJ Tax Attorney Pleads to Tax Perjury (6/21/19; 6/22/19)

DOJ Tax announced here that James F. Miller, a former Tax Division attorney, pled guilty to willfully filing a false tax return that "underreported his gross income on his 2010 through 2014 tax returns by approximately $2,215,587."  The plea count was § 7206(1) which is a three year felony.  The announcement indicates that he agreed to pay $735,933 restitution.

I calculated the Guidelines range on the following assumptions:  (i) the restitution amount is the tax loss; there is no sophisticated means adjustment, and the maximum 3 point reduction for acceptance of responsibility.  On that basis, my rough calculation indicates an aggregate sentencing level of 17 and a guidelines range of 24-30 months.  (JAT Note:  I corrected the calculation on 6/22/19 to take out the sophisticated means addition which I had not caught in the spreadsheet.)

The plea documents are:

1. The plea agreement, here.
2. The Criminal Information for the plea, here.
3.  The Statement of Facts, here.

Update 6/22/19 10:15am:  Peter Reilly, a frequent and interesting commentator on the tax scene, has posted an entry on Miller's plea and some of the background information.  Peter J. Reilly, Tax Lawyer Turned Lobbyist Pleads Guilty To Leaving Over $2M Off Tax Returns (Forbes 6/22/19), here.   I highly recommend Peter's discussion.  Peter offers links for further information on Miller.

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