Reply 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.