Debra Wong Yang
United States Attorney
Central District of California
United States Courthouse
312 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, California 90012
July 27, 2005
Thom Mrozek (213) 894-6947
Los Angeles, CA - An attorney who served as mayor of the City of Azusa from 1994 to 1997 and as a member of the Azusa City Council for four years prior to that was sentenced this morning to six months in federal prison for subscribing to a false tax return that failed to report $200,000 in income.
Stephen J. Alexander, 49, of Azusa, was sentenced by United States District Judge William J. Rea. Following his prison term, Alexander will be on supervised release for three years, which will include six months of home detention with electronic monitoring.
In April, a federal jury in Los Angeles found Alexander guilty of the felony charge of subscribing to a false tax return. The charge stemmed from Alexander's involvement in more than $1.5 million in monetary transactions in 1997 and his admitted retention of $200,000 of those funds as a "commission" he claimed he had earned for performing services involving the funds.
From 1999 to 2000, Alexander was one of several defendants in a civil lawsuit brought by Smith Barney and others for recovery of the funds. During that lawsuit, Alexander admitted to retaining $200,000 of the more than $1.5 million transferred to him and further asserted, under oath, that he believed he was entitled to what he claimed was a $200,000 fee. Alexander also admitted to preparing a receipt for the $200,000.
Alexander's 1997 tax return claimed he received only $14,885 in income.
The case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation Division. The United States Postal Inspection Service participated in this investigation.
Release No. 05-109
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