Old Forge Man Charged With Tax Evasion

SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Christopher Jones, age 53, of Old Forge, Pennsylvania, was charged on June 16, 2020, by criminal information with tax evasion.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the criminal information alleges that Jones failed to report over $500,000 in taxable income between 2014 and 2019 to avoid paying federal income taxes.  The information alleges that Jones failed to report income he gained from illegal bookmaking activities.  The information further alleges that Jones made false statements to federal agents in February 2019 during the investigation.

The case is being investigated by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean A. Camoni is prosecuting the case.

Criminal Informations are only allegations.  All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 5 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.  Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

# # #