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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]His business brought in about $2.8 million in gross revenue during which he did not file tax returns.
A Vermont man was sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to federal income tax evasion.
Craig Cowles, 53, of Richmond, Vermont, was also ordered to pay restitution totaling about $262,000 to the IRS for unpaid taxes. Since pleading guilty, Cowles has already paid the IRS more than $80,000 toward this restitution obligation.
According to court records, Cowles is the owner of Cowles Excavating, an earth-moving business located in Richmond.
Between 2012 and 2017, Cowles generated approximately $2.8 million in gross revenue from Cowles Excavating and other businesses he operated. During that period, Cowles filed no tax returns with the IRS and paid no federal income taxes despite earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in net profits.
Cowles structured a number of transactions to avoid bank reporting requirements. He did this by breaking down checks he received from business clients into cash amounts that were slightly under $10,000, then using additional funds from the checks to buy cashier’s checks payable to himself. Cowles often converted these cashier’s checks into additional cash.
Federal law prohibits anyone from structuring deposits and withdrawals that are intended to circumvent the $10,000 cash reporting requirement.[/vc_column_text][us_image image=”2869″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
