Former Alabama Mayor Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Return

WASHINGTON – John Jackson, the former mayor of White Hall, Ala., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Walker in U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Ala., to one count of filing a false tax return, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. 

According to the court documents, Jackson admitted filing a false joint 2004 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, Form 1040, that did not report all of the total income earned by Jackson and his spouse. Jackson also admitted in his plea to filing false joint Individual Income Tax Returns, Forms 1040, for 2005 and 2006, which failed to report all of the total income earned by him and his spouse. 

No sentencing date has been scheduled.  Jackson faces a maximum of three years in prison, three years of supervised release and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the loss resulting from his offense. 

The case was investigated by special agents of the IRS - Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorney Michael Boteler of the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, Southern Criminal Enforcement Section, and Todd Brown, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, handled the case.

Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.usdoj.gov/tax