Dr. Mingqing Xiao, Tax Evasion, Illinois 2022

Benton, Ill. – Dr. Mingqing Xiao, a 60-year-old mathematics professor and researcher at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, was convicted by a federal jury on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 in connection with lying to federal authorities about a foreign bank account in China in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Dr. Xiao was convicted of three counts of Making a False or Fraudulent Statement to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on his tax returns and one count of Failure to File a report of a Foreign Bank Account (FBAR).

The evidence presented at the trial established that Xiao opened a foreign bank account at Ping An Bank in China in 2016 and received monthly deposits into the account from Shenzhen University in Shenzhen, China, from 2016 to 2020. Some of the funds were linked to additional sources in China. By 2020, Xiao had accumulated more than $100,000 in the Chinese account.

U.S. taxpayers are required to report the existence of any foreign bank account on their federal income tax returns. In addition, individuals with funds in foreign accounts totaling more than $10,000 at any time during a given year are required to file an FBAR with the Treasury Department.

Dr. Xiao’s acts of tax evasion have undermined the integrity of our system of taxation, said Darrell J. Waldon, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CI Washington DC Field Office. Our agency will continue to uphold its mission to investigate tax and financial crimes in order to uphold confidence in our tax system, holding individuals accountable for their crimes.

The charge of making and subscribing false income tax returns provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a $100,000 fine. The charge of failing to file an FBAR provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentence is set before the Honorable Staci M. Yandle on August 11, 2022.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Springfield Field Office and the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter Reed and Scott Verseman.

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