New York Restaurateur Sentenced for Tax Evasion
On May 5, 2011, in Buffalo, N.Y., Steve Carlson, a prominent restaurateur, was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay $391,972 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and $599,086 to the EverBank of Florida. Carlson was also ordered to forfeit over $2,000,000. According to court documents, Carlson evaded the payment of his federal taxes from 2001 to 2008 by putting businesses and properties in names other than his own, thereby hiding his assets from the government. Included in this scheme are properties in Florida, one of which involved a multi-million dollar loan. Carlson was a guarantor of the loan, and was required to provide proof of income to the bank. He provided supporting documents that included falsified tax returns, false financial statements and a false social security number. The loan has since failed and the loss is at least $600,000.