Menomonee Falls Resident Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

Matthew D. Krueger, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District, announced that John Miller Ragland (Age 71), who previously resided in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, appeared in federal court and pleaded guilty to attempting to evade his federal income taxes, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §  7201. Based on his guilty plea, Ragland faces up to 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Ragland has also agreed to make restitution to the IRS for the taxes he attempted to evade, which exceeded $1,000,000, as well as interest on those unpaid taxes. Ragland’s sentencing is scheduled for December 18, 2019.

According to documents filed in federal court in conjunction with Ragland’s guilty plea, during the years 2007 through 2013, Ragland operated a number of business ventures through which he acted as an independent sales representative in the United States and elsewhere, including Hong Kong, China.

As the result of his efforts on behalf of a Chinese manufacturer, Ragland received more than $3,000,000 in commissions. Ragland deposited these commissions into a bank account he maintained in Hong Kong, but failed to report any of this income on his federal income tax returns and failed to disclose the foreign bank account in Hong Kong. As the result of these actions, Ragland underreported and underpaid his federal income taxes by more than $1,000,000.

This matter was investigated by agents of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew L. Jacobs.

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