Calif. Man Gets Record Penalty in Tax Evasion Case
The owner of Oxnard, Calif.-based Haas Automation was sentenced to two years in federal prison for orchestrating a scheme in which tens of millions of dollars in bogus expenses were put on the company’s books in an attempt to avoid the payment of more than $34 million in federal income taxes.
Gene Francis Haas, 54, of Camarillo, Calif., was ordered to begin serving on Jan. 14, 2008. Haas has already paid a $5 million fine.
As part of a plea agreement, Haas agreed to sign “closing agreements” for tax years 2000 and 2001 and to pay all outstanding taxes, plus penalties and interest. In court, it was revealed that Haas has paid more than $70 million to the government to resolve his tax issues for the two years he defrauded the government — a record amount.
“Mr. Haas has now paid the government more than twice the amount of taxes he attempted to avoid paying,” said United States Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien. “This huge monetary penalty, as well as the two-year prison term, should reassure law-abiding citizens that tax evasion can and will be rooted out, and that there are significant ramifications for those who attempt to cheat the government.”
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Tags: Tax Evasion Case, tax issues
