A brazen scheme to evade taxes on millions of dollars in income has landed a Florida businessman behind bars. Joseph Stewart, 50, of Miami, pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges stemming from his lucrative business ventures that sold internet access to American servicemembers and contractors stationed abroad.
According to court documents, Stewart earned over $4.5 million in dividends from his 50% ownership in a business that sold internet access to American servicemembers and contractors on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, between 2013 and 2018. He also earned income from his 50% ownership of a separate business that sold internet access to soldiers stationed on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during the same period.
But instead of paying his fair share of taxes, Stewart stopped filing timely tax returns with the IRS once he began receiving significant dividends from his business in 2013. In a desperate attempt to cover his tracks, Stewart filed a false affidavit with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) in April 2016, attaching unfiled copies of federal tax returns while falsely attesting they were filed.
When the IRS sent Stewart letters in 2019, he hired a tax attorney and return preparers and falsely informed them that over $3.8 million in dividends he received between 2013 and 2018 were nontaxable. But his scheme was eventually exposed, and he is now facing the consequences.
Stewart's guilty plea is a stark reminder that tax evasion will not be tolerated. His sentence is pending, but one thing is certain: he will have to answer to the law for his crimes.
Source: Department of Justice
Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/florida-businessman-pleads-guilty-tax-evasion