Detroit-Area Business Owners Plead Guilty to Filing a False Tax Return

Two West Bloomfield, Michigan, residents and Detroit-area business owners pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit to one count of filing a false federal income tax return, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. 

According to the court filings, Todd and Stephen Schlussel each filed a false 2008 tax return that failed to report a significant amount of income.  The unreported income was from several Detroit-area businesses that they operated and controlled, including Phoenix Real Estate Company, Phoenix Preferred Properties LLC, Phoenix Office Plaza-II LLC, the Lumber Company and FS Investments LLC.

U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow scheduled sentencing for Sept. 28.  Both face a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. 

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended special agents of IRS–Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Mark McDonald and Christopher O’Donnell of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.  Ciraolo also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan for their assistance on the case.