Former Panhandle Business Owner Indicted for Tax Fraud

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced today that Patrick Alfred Anderson, 62, of Laughlin, Nevada, appeared in federal court today following his indictment in the Northern District of Florida and arrest in Laughlin, Nevada, on charges of filing false individual and corporate tax returns.

The indictment alleges that Anderson, while a resident of Niceville, Florida, filed false individual and corporate federal income tax returns for the years 2010 and 2011.  The indictment alleges that for 2010, Anderson reported a total income of $58,452 when in fact, his income was approximately $88,149, and in 2011 he reported a total income of negative $81,710, when in fact, his income was approximately $259,995.  The indictment further alleges that Anderson filed a false 2011 corporate income tax return for Haight Ashbury LLC claiming that the business’s gross receipts were $305,772 when in fact, the gross receipts were approximately $616,886.

Anderson was arraigned on the charges by U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth M. Timothy.  The trial is scheduled for September 2, 2014, before Senior U.S. District Judge Lacey A. Collier at the U.S. District Courthouse in Pensacola.  As part of his conditions of release pending trial, Anderson is required not to have any contact, direct or indirect, with any former employees or customers of any of his former businesses located in the Northern District of Florida, which included Haight Ashbury LLC, Woodstock Navarre, Woodstock Niceville, Woodstock Fort Walton Beach, Woodstock Mary Esther, Woodstock Santa Rosa Beach, and Woodstock Crestview.

If convicted, Anderson faces a maximum of 3 years in prison, restitution, and a fine of $100,000 for each count.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Eggers and was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Okaloosa Multi-Agency Drug Task Force.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.