Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced commercial real estate broker Henry Cole, age 56, of Lutherville, today to three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for filing three false federal tax returns and three counts of tax evasion, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. A federal jury convicted Cole on those charges on February 3, 2009. Judge Bennett also ordered Cole to pay a fine of $200,000.

According to testimony presented during his four week trial, Cole filed individual federal tax returns for tax years 2001 to 2003 in which he falsely claimed $2 million as capital gains to be offset by carry-forward losses, when in fact the money was ordinary income. He also failed to include an additional $98,200 in income on his 2003 tax return. As part of today’s sentencing Judge Bennett found that Cole had evaded at least $477,000 in taxes and ordered him to cooperate with the IRS to resolve his tax liability.

“Prosecuting individuals who intentionally conceal income and evade taxes is a vital element in maintaining public confidence in our tax system. Tax evasion is not a victimless crime. Honest, hardworking Americans pay the price when others choose to evade their tax obligations,” stated C. Andre' Martin, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation for their investigative work, and commended Assistant United States Attorneys Joyce K. McDonald and A. David Copperthite, who prosecuted the case.