Orange County Defense Contractor Punished For Repeatedly Cheating IRS
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| Lee: cheated the hand that fed him |
According to court records inside the Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse in Santa Ana, 69-year-old Shann Mou Lee--a native of Taiwan and the owner of Roger Industry in Garden Grove--was charged in July 2012 for lying about his annual income in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
A federal prosecutor determined that Lee, whose primary customer is Parker Hannifin in Irvine, cheated the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) out of nearly $68,000 in owed taxed during the three-year period.
For example, in April 2010, Lee and his wife, Jiin Sheue, signed taxes returns that claimed income of $347,000 when, in fact, the amount was closer to $475,000, according to court records.
Such criminal conduct can bring a maximum three-year prison term plus a $250,000 fine and the U.S. Probation Office determined the federal guideline in this particular case called for a sentencing range of 10 to 16 months in prison.
Lee's attorney sold his client as remorseful, noted the otherwise clean record and pointed out the man had been taking care of a son who'd been tragically handicapped in a gang-related shooting.
This month, U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna decided against any prison time for Lee--a past employee of Rockwell International and Hughes Aircraft.
Instead, Selna gave him five months of home confinement, two years of supervised probation and a $3,000 fine.
The IRS gets the back taxes too, plus as much as a $50,000 penalty.
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