Jury Finds Local Plaintiff’s Attorney Guilty of Corruptly Obstructing an IRS Audit

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On Monday, a federal jury found Stephen J. Dougan, 59, formerly of Granite Bay, guilty of one count of corruptly endeavoring to impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue Laws, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to evidence admitted at trial, during an Internal Revenue Service audit of his 2006 and 2007 tax returns, Dougan made false statements and provided false and misleading documents to the IRS that substantially underrepresented his income in 2006 and 2007. He also made false statements and provided false and misleading documents to the IRS in order to substantiate various business expenses he claimed on Schedule C of his 2006 tax return.

This case is the product of an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael M. Beckwith, Chi Soo Kim, Matthew M. Yelovich and Amy Schuller Hitchcock are prosecuting the case.

Dougan is scheduled for sentencing on April 22, 2019. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine or a fine of twice the value of the gross gain or loss from the tax violation, which, in this case, exceeded $320,000.