A real estate developer in Michigan is facing five years in prison plus penalties and restitution for lying to the IRS in an attempt to hide his failure to pay employment taxes he withheld from employee wages. During the investigation, the developer (who is a former CPA) lied to IRS special agents about his companies’ assets income, filed false employment tax returns stating he had no employees, and claimed he could not afford to pay his tax debts. Meanwhile, he was using business accounts to pay for his Lake Michigan vacation home, Lansing condo, car payments, college tuition, personal credit card bills, and his boat. In 2021, he had filed a defamation suit against an East Lansing news outlet for publishing a story on his questionable business practices. The suit was dismissed. (www.justice.gov/Usao-wdmi/pr/2022_0426_Chappelle)
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