John McKay, United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington,
and Steven J. Pasholk, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation
for the Washington and Alaska Region, announced that today United States
District Chief Judge John C. Coughenour sentenced ELTON A. WILBORN,
age 56, formerly of Bellevue and currently of Austin, Texas, to twelve
(12) months plus one day in prison for filing false income tax returns
with the Internal Revenue Service. Chief Judge Coughenour also ordered
WILBORN to be supervised by a probation officer for one year after his
release from prison.
Court records show that on April 15, 2000, WILBORN filed with the Internal
Revenue Service an U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (Form 1040), married
filing jointly, for the calendar year 1999. The income tax return was
false in that it understated his and his wife's income and exaggerated
their itemized deductions by substantial amounts. WILBORN willfully
understated their taxable income by approximately $384,000, which, in
turn, caused him and his wife to pay less income tax than they truly
owed. WILBORN admitted he had filed similar false tax returns (Forms
1040) for 1997, 1998, and 2000. He signed each of the returns under
the penalty of perjury and filed them with the IRS.
Court records also show that for all four years combined, WILBORN fraudulently
omitted $388,658 of income, which included interest, dividends, and
pension income. He knew the income had been received, but did not report
it. WILBORN fraudulently claimed false or non-existent itemized deductions
on the Schedules A that were attached to his Forms 1040. The overstated
deductions included mortgage interest, property taxes, and charitable
contributions, which he knew never existed. WILBORN overstated his and
his wife's deductions in all four years by approximately $423,239.
By not reporting all of their income, and by overstating their itemized
deductions, WILBORN fraudulently reduced their taxable income by $830,000
and paid less income tax than they actually owed. According to court
records, WILBORN recently paid to the IRS most of his outstanding tax
loss for these years, including some of the civil penalties and interest,
in the amount of $498,590.
Special Agent in Charge Steven J. Pasholk of the IRS Criminal Investigation
commented, "All Americans have a duty to pay their fair share when
it comes to income taxes. No one is above the law and no one should
be able to sit on the sidelines while the rest of us are trying to do
the right thing by honestly reporting our income and deductions."
For further information, please contact Janet Freeman, Assistant United
States Attorney, at (206) 553-7729, or Lawrence Lincoln, Press Spokesperson
for the United States Attorney's Office, at (206) 553-4127.
