A federal grand jury in Jacksonville, Florida, returned an indictment yesterday charging a Florida businessman with tax evasion, not filing a tax return and not paying taxes.
According to the indictment, Phillip Mak of Jacksonville was a self-employed businessman who, from 2008 through 2020, earned approximately $10.3 million in income.
During that same period, Mak allegedly did not pay any federal taxes and, except for two years, did not file tax returns. The IRS allegedly assessed approximately $1.9 million in outstanding taxes, penalties and interest against Mak for tax years 2008, 2009, 2012-2015 and 2019-2020.
Instead of paying what he owed, Mak allegedly attempted to shield his assets from the IRS by transferring $1 million in cash to his domestic partner’s bank accounts.
In addition, the indictment alleges that Mak, after being interviewed by IRS investigators, transferred ownership of his home to his domestic partner’s trust, created a nominee entity and began depositing his income into a bank account held in the name of that entity.
In total, Mak is alleged to have caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $1.92 million.
If convicted, Mak faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for tax evasion and a maximum sentence of one year in prison for each charge of failure to file a tax return and failure to pay tax.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
