Jon T. McBride, Tax Evasion, Salt Lake City UT, 2023

SALT LAKE CITY – Jon T. McBride, 51, of Fruit Heights, Utah, is facing serious federal charges after a grand jury returned a five-count indictment alleging a deliberate and multi-year scheme to avoid paying his taxes. McBride is accused of filing false returns, attempting to evade taxes, and outright refusing to pay nearly $839,328 in back taxes, dating back to 1999.

The indictment, handed down last week, details a pattern of deception spanning from 2005 to 2010. McBride will appear for arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul M. Warner on April 26, 2913, at 10:15 a.m. The charges include one count of filing a false tax return, three counts of attempted tax evasion, and one count of evasion of payment. If convicted on all counts, McBride could face up to five years in federal prison.

The scheme began to unravel with the 2005 tax year, when McBride allegedly failed to report approximately $109,785 in income earned from his partnership in The Clip Company, a Nevada-based business selling cell phone belt clips, also registered in Utah. But the alleged deception didn’t stop there. Prosecutors claim McBride went on to create a web of “nominee entities” and shell bank accounts to hide substantial income and the proceeds from property sales.

According to the indictment, McBride allegedly instructed companies to report his earnings as belonging to these nominee entities, then filed false tax returns for those entities, failing to report the income. The funds in these nominee accounts were then allegedly used for McBride’s personal expenses. This wasn’t a simple oversight; the government contends this was a calculated effort to shield assets and income from the IRS.

The most significant charge centers around the $839,328 in unpaid taxes from 1999 to 2002. The indictment alleges that from 2006 through April 15, 2010, McBride actively worked to avoid paying these debts. This included creating new nominee entities to replace him as a partner in companies, opening bank accounts under false names, transferring real property to these entities, and filing deliberately false documentation with the IRS – all in an attempt to disappear his financial obligations.

It’s crucial to remember that an indictment is not a finding of guilt. McBride is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah, with the investigation carried out by special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation. Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and report on any developments.

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