Baltimore Tax Evader Sentenced to Prison
Failed to File Personal Tax Returns for 2000 to 2009
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Joseph S. Brightman, age 55, of
Baltimore, today to eight months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for tax evasion. Judge Bredar also entered an order that Brightman pay $114,226 in restitution to the IRS for the tax years 2000 through 2010. Brightman has previously forfeited $80,000 in a parallel civil forfeiture case.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Rick A. Raven of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.
“IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to aggressively pursuing those who willfully fail to file their tax returns and will continue to devote resources to the investigation of egregious non-filers, such as Mr. Brightman. Today’s sentence insures the taxpaying public that certain individuals’ criminal behavior, designed to undermine the tax system, will not be ignored,” said Special Agent in Charge Rick A. Raven of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.
According to his guilty plea, Brightman operates a scrap metal business called Modern Junk and Salvage in Baltimore. Prior to October 2011, he also operated at a second location in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Brightman did not file a personal income tax return for the years 2000 through 2009. For the years 2007 and 2009 alone, Brightman owed federal taxes of $89,808 and $24,418, respectively.
Additionally, from 2007 through 2010, Brightman routinely withdrew money from his bank account in amounts of $9,500 or $9,000. From January to November 2010 alone, these cash transactions totaled $1,527,000. Routinely conducting financial transactions in amounts just under the $10,000 reporting requirement over a long period of time constitutes the offense of structuring.
The total amount of tax loss to the IRS and the State of Maryland from 2007 through 2010 is $114,226. The total amount of loss from 2000 through 2006 is still to be determined.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the IRS Criminal Investigation for its work in the investigation and thanked Assistant United States Attorney Stefan D. Cassella, who prosecuted the case.
