Description: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with filing false tax returns.

Paul J. Austin, age 60, pleaded guilty. Told the court that from 2012 through 2017, the he was the President of J.P. Austin Associates, Inc., a mineral processing company in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. For calendar years 2012 through 2017, the defendant and his spouse, who served as the company’s Treasurer, jointly filed annual Form 1040 federal income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.

The defendant admitted in Court that during the relevant time period, payments were made from company accounts for college expenses, which were falsely categorized as business expenses using fictitious vendor names. The return preparer for Mr. Austin and his spouse was not informed about these college expense payments, and the payments were not included as taxable income on Form 1040 returns that were ultimately filed with the IRS. Thus, the defendant willfully made and subscribed Form 1040 returns for calendar years 2012 through 2017 that materially underreported his taxable income. Prior to sentencing, the defendant paid the $222,255.35 in restitution owed to the IRS.

Assistant United States Attorney David Lew prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Austin.

Outcome: Defendant was sentenced to 3 years of probation and ordered to pay $222,255.35 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and a fine of $55,000 on his conviction for filing a false income tax return.

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