The Cost of Crime is Always a Burden that Crushes Any Benefits



    Contrary to the popular saying, crime never pays.  The activities it requires of those who choose that lifestyle may promise rich rewards, but will only result in real pain and destruction, from which recovery is very difficult.  Let's consider the recent example of a Northern California man who made that decision and the consequences he is facing.

    Steven Jay Carlton was the Executive Director of the Peninsula Symphony Association, which is based in Los Altos.  During his time in this position, he filed false tax returns from 2010-2012 to underreport his earnings and hide money he embezzled from the organization.  These actions led to at least $220,000 being stolen.  Carlton resigned his position in 2013 when the missing funds were noticed.  One year later he pleaded "No Contest"  to six Felonies including Grand Theft (1), Identity Theft (1), Embezzlement (1), and Forgery (3).  In December 2014, he was convicted of 2 Felonies related to those false tax returns.

    Mr. Carlton is facing at least 9 years in State prison.  Instead of enjoying the benefits of his stolen money, he now owes $34,000.  This is the total of his unpaid taxes, fines, interest, and cost of the investigation that has put him in state custody.  Was the possible brief enjoyment of what Mr. Carlton took for himself worth what has been and will be taken from him?  What do you think?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Early Results from Focused Efforts on High Income Tax Cheats

            Over the past year, the Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) has used funding from the Inflation Reduction Act on audit activities for those who earn more than $1 million and have more than $250,000 in tax debt. In that time, the IRS collected $1 billion from the group that met these criteria. The increase in funding will allow for other goals to be reached as well.           More staff has been added and technology is being updated to provide better service to all taxpayers in the coming years. The IRS will now expand its enforcement activity to include complex partnerships, large corporations, and high-income high wealth individuals who do not file tax returns. In recent years the IRS was not consistent with enforcing tax rules in this area and had fallen behind in the ways some had gotten around their tax responsibilities. These new initiatives look to bridge that gap. If you are in need of t...
Read more

Protect Yourself from Threats

            When it comes to data security threats, the challenges never end. The tactics that criminals use continue to change, but there are some basic things to keep in mind. When it comes to mass email messages or texts, the goal is to get someone to click on a link to steal information or download malware. This is phishing or smishing. An update to this scam is called clone phishing. In this variation, a real email is copied and sent to the recipient again. This time it has an attachment with malicious software or a link to a website designed to steal your personal information.           We can never be too sure how the attack will present itself, but we can be prepared with security measures to protect ourselves. Stop and be aware of warning signs. Unexpected messages with urgent tones telling you to click or download something should be examined closely. Getting a repeated message from a trusted source w...
Read more

The IRS Focuses on High Income Tax Cheats

             The Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) continues to focus on applying the tax laws with accuracy and fairness. With that in mind, they have announced that they are restarting a program that focuses on individuals who did not file returns from 2017 to 2021 and had at least $400,000 in income. They have identified at least 125,000 cases of people who are not in compliance.           The non-filer letters will be going out every week to start the process of filing returns, collecting taxes, interest, and penalties. The basis of these letters comes from information through Forms W2, 1099 and others. Those who receive letters of this nature need to take quick action. The enforcement actions in this program are stronger than usual. That makes it critical that those who receive these letters go to a qualified tax professional . The IRS can be made aware of qualifying deductions and credits that can ch...
Read more