Nasir and Mawaz Merchant Press Release (Sentencing)

March 11, 2005
For Immediate Release

FORMER ST. LOUIS COUNTY RESIDENTS ARE SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR FAILURE TO FILE INCOME TAX RETURNS

St. Louis, Missouri: Two brothers now residing in Texas have been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution for failure to file income tax returns, United States Attorney James G. Martin announced today.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division. First Assistant United States Attorney Michael W. Reap handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

NASIR MERCHANT, 33; and NAWAZ MERCHANT, 31, formerly of St. Louis County, now residing in Houston, Texas, were sentenced to three months in prison and three months of home confinement. Nasir was ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $69,577; Nawaz was ordered to pay $58,338. In December 2004, each pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of failure to file income tax returns. They appeared this morning before United States Magistrate Judge Audrey G. Fleissig.

According to the facts filed with the court, during calendar year 2000, Nasir and Nawaz Merchant received $126,479 and $126,328, respectively, of adjusted gross income. The Merchant brothers admitted with their pleas that they purposely failed to file income tax returns on their income for the year 2000.

“Willful failure to file a required federal tax return is a federal crime,” said Michael Yasofsky, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation. CI is committed to ensuring that everyone pays their fair share of taxes and will aggressively investigate individuals that intentionally disregard their tax obligations.”

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI JAMES G. MARTIN United States Attorney	NEWS RELEASE
For further information: Call Public Affairs Officer Jan Diltz at (314) 539-7719
March 11, 2005 For Immediate Release FORMER ST. LOUIS COUNTY RESIDENTS ARE SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR FAILURE TO FILE INCOME TAX RETURNS St. Louis, Missouri: Two brothers now residing in Texas have been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution for failure to file income tax returns, United States Attorney James G. Martin announced today. This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division. First Assistant United States Attorney Michael W. Reap handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. NASIR MERCHANT, 33; and NAWAZ MERCHANT, 31, formerly of St. Louis County, now residing in Houston, Texas, were sentenced to three months in prison and three months of home confinement. Nasir was ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $69,577; Nawaz was ordered to pay $58,338. In December 2004, each pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of failure to file income tax returns. They appeared this morning before United States Magistrate Judge Audrey G. Fleissig. According to the facts filed with the court, during calendar year 2000, Nasir and Nawaz Merchant received $126,479 and $126,328, respectively, of adjusted gross income. The Merchant brothers admitted with their pleas that they purposely failed to file income tax returns on their income for the year 2000. “Willful failure to file a required federal tax return is a federal crime,” said Michael Yasofsky, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation. CI is committed to ensuring that everyone pays their fair share of taxes and will aggressively investigate individuals that intentionally disregard their tax obligations.”