Richard R. Baker, Tax Evasion, Florida 2023

Orlando, Florida – Richard R. Baker (47, Winter Park) pleaded guilty to tax evasion, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Baker, a licensed attorney in Florida since 1993, has been accused of failing to timely file his personal federal tax returns from at least 1995 to 2008. During this period, Baker’s total adjusted gross income was approximately $991,008, which required him to file personal tax returns. In an attempt to evade paying his income taxes, Baker submitted extensions to the Internal Revenue Service for his 2007 and 2008 tax returns, falsely representing that he owed $0 in taxes.

Baker also claimed more allowances than he was allowed for his federal withholding and failed to mail to the IRS the W-2 forms that had been prepared for him and the other employees at his business. In October 2009, Baker’s accountant prepared his personal returns for 2002 to 2008, but Baker did not file any of those returns at that point. Instead, he continued with his efforts to prevent the IRS from being able to investigate him, which included the submission of a false Collection Information Statement to the IRS in November 2009, that misrepresented the number of exemptions he had claimed on his withholding and omitted two bank accounts controlled by him, containing thousands of dollars.

The total amount of unreported income for Baker for 2002 to 2008 was approximately $991,008, resulting in a total tax loss of approximately $160,348. Baker has agreed to pay this amount to the IRS as restitution.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.

Richard R. Baker, a Winter Park attorney, pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges in Orlando, Florida. He faces up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Baker’s total adjusted gross income from 2002 to 2008 was approximately $991,008, and he failed to file his personal tax returns during this period.

The total tax loss for Baker from 2002 to 2008 was approximately $160,348, which he has agreed to pay to the IRS as restitution. Baker’s sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.

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