PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge in Portland has sentenced the leader of a tax evasion scheme to the maximum five years in prison.
Joseph Saladino of Boise and the associates convicted with him of conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service contended that personal income in the United States is not taxable.
They filed about 1,800 returns on behalf of clients who claimed to owe no income tax. Had the IRS not rejected the returns, the tax loss would have topped $9.5 million.
Sentenced Wednesday in addition to Saladino was Michael Mungovan of Marion, Ind., who got four years. Richard Fuselier of Lafayette, La., pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nearly two years.
