East Bay Entrepreneur Sentenced To One Year In Federal Prison For Tax Evasion

OAKLAND – Salman Salman was sentenced today to one year and a day in federal prison for tax evasion. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., United States District Judge.  

Salman, 47, of Rodeo, Calif., pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion under 26 U.S.C. § 7201 on May 8, 2024.  According to his plea agreement, Salman admitted he falsely underreported income that he and his wife enjoyed from three businesses he owned and operated during the course of the scheme.  The businesses were The Plug Tattoo & Piercing, Inc., S&S Real Estate Investment Group, and Synergy Investment Group Ohio Inc.  Further, in his plea agreement Salman acknowledged he understated the amount of distributions his companies made to him, with Salman failing to report over $3.4 million paid to him by his companies.  Salman also admitted that he claimed false and overstated expenses, all of which furthered his scheme to reduce his tax obligations.  In total, Salman admitted that his failure to disclose over $3.4 million in income he received from his companies for tax years 2016 through 2019 resulted in Salman underreporting capital gains and dividends subject to income tax by more than $2.4 million.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Gilliam also ordered Salman to serve a 36-month period of supervised release, which will begin after he serves his prison term, $438,247 in restitution to be paid in six months, and a fine of $7,500. Salman was ordered to surrender to begin serving his sentence on Oct. 30, 2024. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Mosley of the Oakland Field Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Green is prosecuting this case with the assistance of Kay Konopaske and Christine Tian. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by IRS-CI.