Birmingham, AL An Alabama man was sentenced to serve 12 months in prison for tax evasion.
According to court documents and statements made in court, John P. Cooney of Jefferson County, Alabama, disclosed to the IRS in December 2011, through late-filed tax returns, that he owed approximately $780,000 to the IRS for the 2008 to 2010 tax years. Despite acknowledging he owed these taxes, Cooney never paid them. Instead, Cooney sought to conceal income he was earning by setting up a nominee corporation, GVA Advisors LLC (GVA), and arranging for payments to be made to GVA, rather than directly to him. From 2013 through 2016, Cooney deposited more than $435,000 into the GVA account, concealing the income from the IRS and evading payment of his outstanding tax liabilities. As a result of his actions, Cooney currently owes more than $1.3 million in outstanding balances, penalties, and interest to the IRS.
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A Jefferson County man will serve 12 months in prison and repay over $1 million to the IRS after being sentenced this week for tax evasion. (Shutterstock)
BIRMINGHAM, AL A Birmingham man will serve 12 months in prison after being pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion in February and being sentenced this week, U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona for the Northern District of Alabama announced on Monday.
In a news release, Escalona said the man, John P. Cooney, admitted in 2011 that he owed to $780,000 to the IRS for the 2008, 2009 and 2010 tax years. The amount went unpaid.
Cooney then created a nominee corporation, GVA Advisors, and had payments sent through the corporation rather than directly to him, concealing the payments from the IRS and evading payments, Escalona said.