Kirtland man charged with filing false tax returns
A criminal information was filed charging John C. Hartman, age 60, formerly of Kirtland, Ohio, with two counts of filing false tax returns for the years 2005 and 2006, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The information alleges that Hartman filed his 2005 and 2006 tax returns omitting income obtained from individuals he defrauded.
Hartman solicited money from relatives and family members under the guise that he was going to invest their money in various investments such as stock, raw materials and real property, according to the information.
He never invested these funds. Instead, Hartman used these funds to pay for personal expenses, according to the information.
He also obtained money by telling his friends and family members that he needed funds to pay for outstanding tax obligations, a bad stock investment, and medical expenses for his sick wife. He obtained these funds under the guise of loans. Hartman had no such delinquent tax obligations or bad stock investments and his wife did not have the serious medical condition that Hartman described. Hartman had no intention to repay any of the funds he purported to be loans. Instead, Hartman spent the funds on personal expenses, according to the information.
According to the information, the unreported income from fraud for 2005 and 2006 was $230,000 and $136,500, respectively. The tax loss for 2005 and 2006 was $65,797 and $17,963, respectively.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offenses, and the characteristics of the violations.
In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases they will be less than the maximum.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Patton and Special Assistant United States Attorney Perry D. Mastrocola, following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.
An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
