South Florida man pleads guilty to tax evasion with business that provided internet to U.S. service members
MIAMI —
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A South Florida resident accused of not paying millions of dollars in taxes decided whether he would fight federal charges.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, on Monday, July 20, Joseph Stewart, from Miami, pled guilty to one count of tax evasion.
He was initially charged with seven counts of tax evasion and seven counts of filing false tax returns.
The DOJ said between 2013 and 2018, Stewart earned more than $4.5 million in dividends from 50% ownership in a business that sold internet access to U.S. service members and contractors stationed on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.
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During the same time period, Stewart also earned income from his 50% ownership of a separate business that sold internet access to soldiers stationed on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The DOJ said Stewart stopped filing timely tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service once he began receiving significant dividends from his business in 2013.
The DOJ said Stewart filed a false affidavit with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services by attaching unfiled copies of federal tax returns when falsely attesting they were filed.
Once Stewart received letters from the IRS in 2019, he hired a tax attorney and return preparers and falsely informed them that over $3.8 million in dividends he received in 2013 and 2018 were nontaxable loans.
Stewart also said he did not know the other shareholders of the business.
That false information led the tax professionals to draft false returns with the IRS, except for a 2013 tax return, which reported that Stewart owed $155,720 in taxes.
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The DOJ said Stewart willfully failed to report around $4.62 million in income and caused a total tax loss to the United States of $1.57 million.
“Joe Stewart apologizes to the court and the government and accepts responsibility for his misconduct,” Dennis G. Kainen, the attorney representing Stewart, told WPBF 25 News on Wednesday, July 22.
Stewart is facing a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison, probation, monetary penalties and restitution.
Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 9.