Under a Plea Agreement, He Will Agree to a Lifetime Ban on Working as a Tax Consultant.
SAN JOSE – LAWFUEL -Legal News, Legal Jobs – United States Attorney Kevin V. Ryan announced that Jonathan Paul Wendy pleaded guilty on November 1, 2006, to aiding or inducing another to file a false tax return. Under the plea agreement, Mr. Wendy admitted to fabricating or inflating deductions on 18 tax returns that he prepared. This guilty plea is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation.
Mr. Wendy admitted that he prepared 18 individual tax returns and falsely listed the taxable amount claimed on each return well knowing that each taxpayer’s taxable income was substantially greater than what Mr. Wendy reported on the taxpayers’ return. Mr. Wendy admitted that he intentionally reduced each taxpayers’ tax liability by fabricating or inflating deductions on Schedules A, B, C and D of their returns as well as on Form 2106, a form for employee business expenses, and Form 4797, a form relating the sale of business property. As a result of Mr. Wendy’s conduct, the amount of tax due and owing to the government by these taxpayers was more than $70,000.
In pleading guilty, Mr. Wendy, 55, of San Jose, California, specifically admitted that on or about July 27, 1999, he prepared a United States Individual Income Tax Return for an individual referred to as F.F. for the 1998 tax year. On F.F.’s return, he falsely listed F.F.’s taxable income as $94,347, when in fact, he well knew that F.F.’s correct taxable income was approximately $104,929. Mr. Wendy admitted that he intentionally reduced F.F.’s tax liability by creating false or grossly inflating items on F.F.’s tax return through numerous false deductions regarding investment interest, professional dues, employee business expenses and amortization expenses on Schedule A of the return and false stock sales on Schedule D of the return.
Mr. Wendy was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 6, 2005. He was charged with 18 counts of aiding or inducing another to file a false tax return, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2) and 4 counts of willfully failing to file his own tax returns, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7203. Under the plea agreement, Mr. Wendy pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement to one count of aiding or inducing another to file a false tax return.
As part of the plea agreement, Mr. Wendy agreed to a lifetime ban on working as a tax consultant and agreed as a special a condition of supervised release to file his own tax returns for tax years 1998 through 2005.
The sentencing of Mr. Wendy, who is not in custody, is scheduled for February 7, 2007, before U.S. District Judge Fogel in San Jose. The maximum statutory penalty for aiding or inducing another to file a false tax return, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2), is three years imprisonment, a fine of $100,000, one year of supervised release, and the costs of prosecution. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Susan Knight is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Susan Kreider. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Division.
Further Information:
Case #: CR 05-00207 JF
A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.
Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
Judges’ calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court’s website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.
All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be directed to Luke Macaulay at (415) 436-6757 or by email at Luke.Macaulay@usdoj.gov.
