Following an evidentiary hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Lebedoff, Borden was sentenced to 27 months in prison. He will serve consecutive terms of 12 months on Count 1, 12 months on Count 2, and 3 months on Count 3. He was sentenced to concurrent sentences of 12 months each on Counts 4 through 6. Borden was also ordered to pay a $6,000 fine. Upon release from prison, Borden must serve a one-year term of supervised release. As a condition of supervised release, Borden was ordered to pay the taxes he owes.
Borden was convicted on June 22, 2004 following a court trial in which Magistrate Judge Lebedoff found Borden guilty of failing to file federal income tax returns for calendar years 2000, 2001, and 2002. Prior to the bench trial, Borden, an attorney from St. Paul, had pled guilty to three other charges of failing to file federal income tax returns for calendar years 1997, 1998, and 1999. All six counts were misdemeanor charges.
Borden was found to owe at least $200,000 in taxes for the years 1996 through 2002. In addition, Borden had not timely filed a tax return since 1991. Evidence at the sentencing hearing also showed Borden had not paid real estate taxes on his Highland Park home for the years 2001 through 2004, with the latest payment having been missed on October 15, 2004.
Assistant United States Attorney Mike Cheever commented, "This man is a member of the bar and has had a successful career financially and otherwise. He had a duty to pay his taxes and he had the ability to do so. He chose not to pay his taxes and the court appropriately held him accountable for his conduct. The IRS and this office will continue to pursue individuals who willfully evade their civic debts, as was done in this case."
Borden was a Minnesota state senator from 1970 to 1979 and president of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce from 1979 to 1990.
The case is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant United States Attorney Mike Cheever prosecuted the case.
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