Kansas Business Owner Sentenced For Making False Statement on Tax Return

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A man who owned businesses in Topeka, Olathe and Kansas City, Kan., was sentenced today to 12 months and a day for falsifying a tax return, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said. In addition, he was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine.

Fernando Tapia, 47, Eudora, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement on a tax return. Tapia owned meat markets in Topeka, Olathe and at two locations in Kansas City, Kan., as well as two more in Missouri. In a tax return for 2010, Tapia reported receiving $1,991 in income from a category of income that included partnership income. In fact, he received approximately $120,000 in income from that category.

McAllister commended the Internal Revenue Service and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon Patton for their work on the case.