Gregory P. Stodghill, Tax Evasion, Indiana 2023

A federal judge has handed down a tough sentence to a Vincennes man who evaded paying over $407,000 in taxes.

Gregory P. Stodghill, 46, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison, the maximum allowed under the law, for his role in a complex tax evasion scheme.

According to court documents, Stodghill engaged in a series of complicated financial schemes that funneled outside investor funds through a number of offshore shell companies.

As a result of these and other financial transactions, including a real estate flipping scheme conducted in Evansville in 2006, Stodghill generated over one million dollars in personal income, although he did not pay income taxes for this income in 2006 or 2008.

When initially interviewed by case agents, Stodghill falsely claimed that his tax preparer had prepared all of his tax returns and that he had filed them.

After the interview, the defendant contacted his return preparer and explained that the IRS and FBI had contacted him and he needed to get his delinquent tax returns prepared. However, the defendant never provided sufficient accurate documentation for the return preparer to complete his returns.

Following this scheme, Stodghill filed a false 2006 federal income tax return and never filed one for 2008. Stodghill later filed a number of frivolous documents with the IRS claiming he had no tax liability.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James M. Warden. Stodghill was ordered to fully repay the $407,324 lost to taxpayers, and must serve three years of federally-supervised release at the end of his prison term.

Under federal law, the defendant is required to serve at least 85% of his prison term within a federal correctional facility.

Stodghill was remanded into custody immediately following the sentencing hearing.

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