Former Lake Orion Resident Sentenced For Tax Offense

A former resident of Lake Orion was sentenced to a year in prison yesterday for income tax evasion, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today.

McQuade was joined in the announcement by Carolyn Weber, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.

U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood imposed sentence on Brett Loren Kelly, 53, who now lives in Bradenton, Florida.

The case arose from Kelly’s failure to report approximately $1.8 million in income for the 2009 tax year. He earned the funds by performing financial consulting, and deposited the funds into a corporate account called Fidelity Capital Group, LLC. While earning these funds, Kelly lived an affluent lifestyle, but did not file tax returns and paid no taxes.

The court also ordered Kelly to pay restitution to the IRS for tax liabilities in the amount of $181,212 for the years of 2007 through 2009, which he paid before sentence was imposed. His term of imprisonment will be followed by two years of supervised release.

“Kelly thought he had successfully disguised his income by diverting it into an undisclosed account," said Carolyn Weber, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation. "He should never have underestimated the IRS Criminal Investigators who were able to follow the money and bring him to justice."

U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade stated that, “With tax season upon us, this case demonstrates that individuals who fail to file tax returns and pay their taxes like the rest of us will face criminal charges.”

The investigation of this case was conducted by special agents of the IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ross MacKenzie.