Madera Man Indicted For Tax Evasion

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed today following the arrest of Jeffrey G. Vincent, 64, of Madera, who is charged with five counts of evading the assessment and payment of individual income taxes, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. 

According to court documents, Vincent, the general partner of a Fresno-based engineering company (Stafford Group Limited Partnership, d/b/a Veco Technologies), has not filed an individual income tax return since 1988, despite earning income from Stafford Group, including at least $457,365 between 2007 and 2010.  Vincent signed tax returns for Stafford Group in which he falsely represented that he does not have a social security number. 

This case was the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Baker is prosecuting the case.

The defendant was arrested this morning and is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe at 1:30 p.m.

If convicted, Vincent faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of tax evasion. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.