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Press Release

Placerville Man Pleads Guilty To Filing False Tax Returns

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Thomas W. Stringfellow, 55, of Placerville, pleaded guilty today to two counts of willfully making false tax returns, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, from 2006 through 2010, Stringfellow underreported his business income on tax returns by more than $1.1 million, and underreported his personal income on tax returns by more than $1 million. Stringfellow owned New Horizon Painting, and rather than depositing all of the business checks into the appropriate accounts, he cashed some of the checks and did not report those amounts as income. In total, Stringfellow’s underreporting of his business income and his personal income led to a tax loss of more than $687,000.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jean M. Hobler is prosecuting the case.

Stringfellow is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Morrison C. England Jr. on December 18, 2014. Stringfellow faces a maximum statutory penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Updated April 8, 2015

Press Release Number: Docket #: 2:14-CR-157 MCE