springfield pharmacist pleads guilty to failing to file tax return
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., pharmacist pleaded guilty in federal court today to failing to file a federal tax return.
Steven Loyd Crain, 53, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. England to a federal information that charges him with failing to file a tax return for 2007.
By pleading guilty today, Crain, a registered pharmacist, admitted that he received taxable income from 2003 to 2007 but willfully failed to make income tax returns. After being contacted by IRS-Criminal Investigation in February 2009, Crain and his wife filed delinquent income tax returns and amended returns for those years. According to today’s plea agreement, Crain and his wife earned a total of $589,905 in taxable income during that time and should have paid $113,446 in federal income tax. Crain paid the taxes due, as well as all penalties and interest, shortly after filing these returns.
Crain, who has been a licensed pharmacist for more than 30 years, has been involved in the ownership of several pharmacies, including Family Pharmacy in Fair Grove, Mo., and Family Pharmacy in Bolivar, Mo. Crain and his wife periodically prepared joint tax forms, which they submitted to banks in order to receive loans, but never filed these returns.
According to the plea agreement, Crain utilized arguments commonly employed by “tax defiers” to avoid taxes, including claims that there is no authority for the creation of the Internal Revenue Service, that revenue laws only apply to residents of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and that he was not subject to revenue laws for various reasons.
Under federal statutes, Crain is subject to a sentence of up to one year in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
