Michael Sang Han, Tax Evasion, Washington 2011

WASHINGTON – In a shocking turn of events, former Palm Beach resident Michael Sang Han, 47, was found guilty yesterday by a federal jury in the District of Columbia of two counts of tax evasion for evading paying more than $4 million in taxes in 2010 and 2011.

According to the evidence introduced at trial, Han owned and operated Envion, a company he claimed held the patents on technology used to convert plastics into fuel oil. Han convinced two individuals to invest nearly $40 million in his company, then used more than $14 million of that money to fund a lavish personal lifestyle.

Prosecutors revealed that Han purchased a Palm Beach home, paid for extravagant renovations and internal decorations, enjoyed flights on private jets, and bought multiple luxury cars, including BMWs, a Range Rover, and a Ferrari. Han also used millions of dollars of the investors’ money to replace money he had previously misappropriated from Envion.

As a result, Han did not report any of the money he converted for his personal use on his 2010 and 2011 tax returns, thereby evading more than $4 million in tax liability.

The guilty verdicts were returned on May 9, 2018, following an eight-day jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before the Honorable James E. Boasberg.

Han faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison on each count. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Han is to appear before Judge Boasberg for a hearing later today to set conditions for his release pending the sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for Aug. 1, 2018.

U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Tax Division, Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington D.C. Field Office commended the work of those who investigated the case from IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

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