News Release
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
District of Rhode Island
February 1, 2008
Providence based businessman is sentenced for tax evasion
A federal judge today sentenced Neil Stierhoff, 52, of Providence, to 46 months in federal prison for tax evasion. In June 2007, a jury found him guilty of failing to pay taxes on about $1.2 million in income that he earned between 1999 and 2002.
United States Attorney Robert Clark Corrente and Nathan J. Hochman, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice Tax Division, announced the sentence, which Chief U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi imposed in U.S. District Court, Providence.
Judge Lisi also fined Stierhoff $40,000 and ordered him to pay all back taxes, plus interest and penalties.
During a trial in June, Tax Division Trial Attorneys John Kane and Thomas Voracek presented evidence that Stierhoff did not file tax returns for the years 1999 to 2002, and failed to pay taxes on more than $1.2 million that he earned selling electronic testing equipment during those years. He sold the equipment by mail, in person, and through eBay.
To conceal his income, Stierhoff did business under several aliases, including Joseph Adams, Adams Associates, and Universal Audio. To further distance himself from his income, Stierhoff used mail drops in Providence and White Plains, New York. He also extensively used cash, withdrawing money from ATMs regularly and using money orders to pay debts. The evidence showed that he withdrew approximately $240,000 from ATMs between 1999 and 2002. A Rhode Island State Police detective testified during the trial that he found more than $100,000 in cash in Stierhoff’s room on Hollywood Road in 2002.
An IRS revenue agent testified that Stierhoff owed more than $450,000 in federal taxes for the years 1999 through 2002.
The jury found Stierhoff guilty of four counts of income tax evasion. He has been detained in federal custody since being convicted.
The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation investigated the case, with assistance from the Rhode Island State Police.
Contact: 401-709-5032 Thomas.connell@usdoj.gov