GREENBELT, Md. (March 27, 2009) - Wayne Paul Green, age 54, of La Plata, pleaded guilty Wednesday to income tax evasion, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
“Businesses that cheat on their taxes can charge lower prices,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “We have a duty to prevent tax criminals from gaining an advantage over honest businesses.”
“Prosecuting individuals who intentionally conceal and evade income is a vital element in maintaining public confidence in our tax system,” stated C. Andre' Martin, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge. “All Americans have a duty to pay their fair share.”
According to the plea agreement, from at least 1986 through 2004, Wayne Green was the sole owner of a concrete finishing and smoothing business. The business operated as Wayne Concrete until approximately April 2000, when Green was contacted by the Small Business/Self-Employed Collections Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in an attempt to collect approximately $336,241 in employment taxes owed by Green for the years 1998, 1999, and 2000. Shortly after that, Green changed the company’s name to W&D Services.
After changing his company’s name, Green falsely represented to his return preparer and to the IRS that the new company was being operated by his wife and that the company’s gross receipts should be reported on her tax returns. Through this false representation, Green caused a substantial portion of his company’s gross receipts in the 2001 tax year to be reported on his wife’s return, while he reported only approximately $6,000 in gross receipts on his own 2001 return. Green then instructed his return preparer to include the company’s reported gross receipts on his wife’s returns for the 2002 and 2003 tax years, and he did not file a return for those years. In addition to placing the business’s gross receipts on his wife’s returns, Green substantially understated the gross receipts and profits actually realized by the company in order to evade the payment of $336,241 in employment taxes owed to the IRS. For tax years 2001 through 2004, Green did not report more than $700,000 in income, resulting in a tax loss of over $91,000 and a total tax loss of $427,315, including the employment taxes owed.
Green faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. has scheduled sentencing for July 16, 2009 at 9:30 a.m.
Source: United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein