U.S. Department of Justice United States Attorney Northern District of California
11th Floor, Federal Building 450 Golden Gate Avenue, Box 36055 San Francisco, California  94102 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Tel: (415) 436-7200 Fax: (415) 436-7234

November 20, 2002 The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced  that Patricia Hokanson pled guilty today to one count of tax evasion under Title 26 U.S.C. Section 7201 before U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton in San Francisco.  The charge is for evading $19,420 in federal income taxes relating to her 1997 tax return. An Information was filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office on November 15, 2002,  charging Ms. Hokanson, 56, of Marin County, with knowingly attempting to evade her 1997 tax liability.  The charge alleged that she claimed to have a 1997 federal tax liability of $2,563.     In pleading guilty, Ms. Hokanson admitted to evading her 1997 tax liability of $19,420 by under-reporting gross receipts from her San Francisco massage salon known as Face to Face.  The amount of income Ms. Hokanson admitted under-reporting in 1997 from the business was $58,475. In pleading guilty to the sole count in the Information, Ms. Hokanson admitted that she understood the bookkeeping practices necessary to file accurate tax returns, but elected to provide her tax return preparer inaccurate records.  This resulted in a tax return that understated her tax liability for that year by $16,857.      The sentencing of Ms.Hokanson is scheduled for February 26, 2003 before Judge Hamilton in San Francisco.  The maximum statutory penalty for one count in violation of Title 26 U.S.C. Section 7201 is 5 years in prison and a fine of $100,000, plus restitution.  However, the actual sentence be dictated by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of factors, and will be imposed in the discretion of the Court. The prosecution is the result of a lengthy investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agents.  Thomas Moore  is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case with the assistance of Kathy Tat.  A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney's Office's website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.  Related court documents and information may be found on the District Court website at www.cand.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.cand.uscourts/gov. All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Jacobs at (415)436-7181.