North Carolina Man Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion

A North Carolina man was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for tax evasion.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Darren Lee Joy of Matthews did not file individual income tax returns for most of the past two decades, even though he was required to do so based on the amount of income he earned. Joy evaded taxes by submitting and maintaining with his employers Forms W-4 and state tax forms that falsely claimed he was exempt from federal and state income tax withholding. As a result, taxes were not withheld from his wages and little to no taxes were paid to the IRS. In total, Joy earned more than $1.8 million in income and owed more than $380,000 in state and federal income taxes. 

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge Frank D. Whitney ordered Joy to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $359,859 in restitution to the United States and $23,058 in restitution to the State of California.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Dena J. King for the Western District of North Carolina and Special Agent in Charge Donald “Trey” Eakins of the IRS-Criminal Investigation Charlotte Field Office made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Brian Flanagan of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley for the Western District of North Carolina prosecuted the case.