Related Federal Cases
Tuscola Businessman Sentenced for Income Tax Evasion
A Tuscola, Ill., businessman has been ordered to serve 30 months (2 ½ years) in prison for failure to pay income tax.
Lorenzo Shane Stewart, 49, owner of Ten Acres Excavating, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough in federal court in Springfield. Stewart was also ordered to serve the first six months of his three-year term of supervised release under home confinement.
Stewart was ordered to report on May 8, 2016, to the federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his prison sentence. He pled guilty on Aug. 21, 2015, to two counts of income tax evasion.
According to court documents, Stewart admitted to failing to pay more than $1.12 million in income tax for the 2008 and 2009 tax years. In 2006, Stewart began conducting his excavation and construction business under the name Ten Acre Excavating, but put the business under the name of one of his employees.
Stewart operated the business and received the income generated from the business, but did not claim income generated by Ten Acre Excavating on his own tax returns. He was awarded contracts to perform excavating and construction work on several natural gas pipeline substations in the Tuscola area, resulting in checks totaling approximately $1.7 million in 2008 and $5.9 million in 2009.
Stewart claimed his adjusted gross income for 2008 was approximately $74,199, when in fact, his adjusted gross income for 2008 was approximately $279,803. For 2009, Stewart claimed his adjusted gross income was approximately $257,361, when in fact, his adjusted gross income was approximately $3,044,980.
Stewart was ordered to pay $1,122,074 in restitution to the IRS. Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller prosecuted the case, with the charges investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division.
Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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