A Richmond area man is accused of tax-related fraud in the state of Vermont. Craig Cowles has been charged after a federal grand jury agreed there was sufficient evidence pointing to the defendant having committed tax evasion. The charges are from between 2012 and 2017. A total of 19 counts were brought against Mr. Cowles. This includes five counts of tax evasion and 14 counts of structuring bank transactions to avoid currency reporting requirements. Cowles owns Cowles Excavating, and it was through his private business that investigators with the Internal Revenue Service realized that he had generated $2.8 million in revenue that he did not report to the IRS.
IRS investigations in Burlington, Vermont, are more common than you may think. The Criminal Lawyer Group’s network of Burlington criminal defense lawyers are some of the top-rated federal criminal defense lawyers in Burlington and they are here to answer your questions about charges related to tax evasion and reporting requirements.
The charge of structuring financial transactions to avoid reporting Cowles’ earnings to the Internal Revenue Service is in response to his failure to file tax returns for these transactions. He did not pay income taxes on the $2.8 million of gross income he received.
Cowles deftly arranged for money to go unnoticed by breaking down checks his business received into cash, purposely ensuring amounts never totaled the mandatory reporting figure of $10,000 and above. He also utilized cashier checks paid to himself and converted them over to cash to avoid notice by the Internal Revenue Service. Federal law states that both crimes are punishable by up to five years in prison, with fines upwards of between $100,000 and $250,000. Each case varies, however, and is determined by the federal guidelines listed for such crimes.
The defendant, in this case, Craig Cowles, pleaded not guilty when brought before the United States Attorney of Vermont.
Tax fraud impacts all of our citizens. When a person evades paying their taxes, they also steal from their neighbors. This is called the “tax gap.” This gap is made solely by those who have participated in tax evasion. Statistics show that about one out of every six dollars owed is not paid towards federal taxes. Tax evasion makes up for possibly three-quarters of the entire federal budget each year.
Tax fraud is a crime not to be taken lightly. It includes the failure to follow tax laws such as not mishandling monies to avoid tax payments to the Internal Revenue Service, applying for false exemptions or deductions, altering a tax document and falsifying information, failure to withhold earnings or information, unreported income, kickbacks, and failing to pay overall due taxes. As in the indictment of Cowles, this is a serious charge.
