He evaded IRS assessments by telling his company’s bookkeeper to stop issuing checks and to have his company pay his personal expenses.
This Pennsylvania businessman pleaded guilty in federal court to tax evasion.
According to court records, Robert Rionda Jr., of Pittsburgh, Penn., owned and operated Arms Insurance Group from 2002 through May 2014. In October 2011, the IRS opened a case on Rionda for unpaid income taxes for the 2009, 2010 and 2011 tax years. In May 2012, the IRS’s attempts to obtain payments from Rionda were unsuccessful, and the IRS levied his personal bank accounts.
Evading IRS Assessments
Photo by Aidan Bartos on Unsplash
Rionda responded to IRS levies by directing the company’s bookkeeper to stop issuing salary checks to Rionda and his wife and pay all of his personal bills from the company’s bank accounts rather than from his personal bank accounts.
Over the next several years, Rionda continued to file apparently accurate corporate returns on behalf of Arms Insurance Group, as well as personal income tax returns, but he made only minimal payments to the IRS for the personal income taxes he owed.
Don't Hide from IRS Assessments
Photo by Matthew Ansley on Unsplash
During the years 2009 to 2014, Rionda received distributions from the company each year which varied from approximately $376,000 to $1.6 million. He sold the company to his son in 2014 but continued to receive distributions through 2016.
The total tax loss, including assessed interest and penalties, is more than $1.5 million. Rionda faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
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Featured image by Hunters Race on Unsplash
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