July 27, 2007 - United States Attorney Patrick L. Meehan today announced the filing of an Indictment* against husband and wife Michael and Jacqueline St. Clair of New Hope, Pennsylvania, charging them with three and five counts, respectively, of filing false tax returns for the years 1999 through 2001. Michael and Jacqueline St. Clair owned and operated two concrete companies, M.D. St. Clair Concrete Company, Inc. (“MD St. Clair”) and MDSC Concrete Contractors, Inc. (“MDSC”). The indictment charges that Michael and Jacqueline St. Clair paid for an elaborate expansion and renovation of their personal residence with corporate funds. According to the indictment, Michael and Jacqueline St. Clair issued checks totaling approximately $370,019 from business checking accounts to pay contractors and vendors for work performed on their personal residence. As a result of the expansion and renovations, Michael and Jacqueline St. Clair nearly quadrupled the size and of their personal residence, from 2,000 square feet to approximately 10,000 square feet, adding four additional bedrooms and three and one-half additional bathrooms. The home increased in value to approximately $3 million.
The indictment further charges that Michael and Jacqueline St. Clair not only failed to report as income the approximately $370,019 in construction services they received for their personal residence courtesy of their corporations, but also deducted these personal expenditures on their corporate tax returns in 1999 through 2001. According to the indictment, Michael and Jacqueline St. Clair reported so little personal income on their joint tax returns for the calendar years 2000 and 2001, that they qualified for the Earned Income Tax Credit, a refundable federal income tax credit designed to benefit low-income working individuals and families.
DEFENDANT |
ADDRESS |
AGE [Date of Birth] |
Michael St. Clair |
Pennsylvania |
1961 |
Jacqueline St. Clair |
Pennsylvania |
1955 |
If convicted, defendant Michael St. Clair faces a maximum possible sentence
of nine years imprisonment and a $750,000 fine, while defendant Jacqueline
St. Clair faces a maximum possible sentence of 15 years imprisonment and
a $1,250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and has been assigned
to Assistant United States Attorney Karen M. Klotz.
| UNITED
STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE EASTERN DISTRICT, PENNSYLVANIA Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 |
Contact: RICH MANIERI Media Contact 215.861.8525 |
*An Indictment or Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Benjamin Franklin Photo by B. Krist for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation