United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

FORMER AMARILLO RESIDENT CHARGED WITH FEDERAL TAX EVASION

United States Attorney Richard B. Roper announced that a federal grand jury in Amarillo has returned an indictment charging Stephen P. Miller with one count of evasion of payment of income tax, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201. Today Miller appeared before the Honorable Clinton Averitte, United States Magistrate Judge, and entered a plea of not guilty. A trial date has not been set.

According to the indictment, Stephen P. Miller attempted to evade and defeat a large part of the income tax he owed for calendar years 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1997 by withdrawing funds from his individual retirement account from December 1998 through December 1999 and placing approximately $1,000,000 outside the United States. In addition, Miller submitted an Offer in Compromise Form 656 to the Internal Revenue Service in March 2000 in which he represented that he was unable to pay his outstanding tax liabilities due to the unavailability of assets.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. However, if convicted, Miller faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). Assistant United States Attorney Vicki Lamberson of the Amarillo, Texas, United States Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.

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