Husband And Wife Sentenced For Various Tax Crimes

HOUSTON - Married couple James R. Dixon and Sharon C. Dixon have each been ordered to prison for committing separate tax crimes in two separately-filed, but related cases, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today along with Lucy Cruz, special agent in charge of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Both entered guilty pleas on their respective cases in October 2012.

Today, U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore sentenced James Dixon to a term of 33 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He further ordered him to pay $1,397,511.30 in restitution.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt sentenced Sharon Dixon on Feb, 27, 2013, to a term of 11 months in prison and ordered her to pay restitution in the amount of $183,801.39. Sharon Dixon pleaded guilty to two counts of willfully failing to file her U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns for 2007 and 2008.

James Dixon was convicted of one count of tax evasion, admitting that in an attempt to evade his and his spouse's full income tax liability for 2006, he willfully failed to report additional income of approximately $255,966.36 on his joint 2006 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. Dixon admitted the additional income tax owed for his joint 2006 income tax year is approximately $59,379.05. For sentencing purposes, he stipulated the total relevant conduct, tax loss in the case, exceeds $890,000. 

According to the plea agreement, the $890,000 includes the individual income taxes Dixon and his wife owe on their 2005 through 2008 income tax years plus more than $700,000 of unpaid employment taxes of a company for which James Dixon had the duty to pay over to the IRS.  Dixon further agreed to pay restitution to the IRS of more than $1.3 million.

Previously released on bond, James Dixon was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Sharon Dixon was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

This matter was investigated by IRS-CI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles J. Escher.