September 21, 2004 - United States Attorney Patrick L. Meehan today announced the filing of an information* charging John P. Balsis with two counts of tax evasion, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §7201, and two counts of mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1341. The information charges that the defendant failed to report income totaling approximately $338,000, owed approximately $118,400 in federal income taxes, and submitted in excess of 2.2 million unredeemed manufacturers' cents-off coupons valued in excess of $1.2 million.

DEFENDANT	ADDRESS	AGE [Date of Birth]
John P. Balsis	148 West 11th Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815	April 7, 1963

If convicted on all counts, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, 3 years supervised release, a $1,000,000 fine, and a $400 special assessment. The case was investigated by agents of the Internal Revenue Service and the Postal Inspection Service and has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Barden for prosecution.