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Press Release

Virginia Tax Lobbyist Pleads Guilty to Filing a False Tax Return

For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs
Intentionally Underreported Over $2.2 Million in Income

An Alexandria, Virginia, tax lobbyist pleaded guilty today to willfully filing a false tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger for the Eastern District of Virginia.

According to court documents, attorney James F. Miller, 67, underreported his gross income on his 2010 through 2014 tax returns by approximately $2,215,587. Miller, a tax policy lobbyist and former employee of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, filed multiple false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). These returns omitted substantial portions of the partnership income he received from two law firms he worked at and the gross receipts of his own lobbying firm. The total tax loss resulting from Miller’s fraudulent conduct was approximately $735,933.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 27, 2019. Miller faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison, a term of supervised release, and monetary penalties. In addition, Miller agreed to pay $735,933 restitution to the IRS.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Terwilliger thanked agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and AUSA Ryan S. Faulconer and Trial Attorney Terri-Lei O’Malley of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the division’s website.

Updated June 21, 2019

Topics
Financial Fraud
Tax
Press Release Number: 19-699