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February 1, 2008

Tax evader sentenced to 46 months

Tax season is upon us and, as if to make it perfectly clear that it’s not OK to evade taxes, a federal judge today sentenced a Rhode Island man to almost 4 years in federal prison for failing to pay his income taxes.

Neil Stierhoff, 52, was also ordered to bay the back taxes -- more than $450,000, according to an IRS agent who testified in U.S. District Court.

Prosecutors said Stierhoff sold electronic testing equipment by mail, in person and through eBay, concealing his income by using several aliases and mail drops in New York, and always working in cash and mail orders.

A state police detective testified that he found more than $100,000 cash in Stierhoff’s room and evidence presented at the trial showed he withdrew nearly a quarter of a million dollars from ATM machines between 1999 and 2002, the years he did not pay taxes.

Stierhoff was found guilty in June and has been in federal custody since.

In addition to paying his back taxes, Stierhoff was ordered to pay interest, fined $40,000 and sentenced to 46 months in prison.

Find out how to pay your taxes at the IRS Web site.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie Jefferson  at 2:39 PM | Permalink

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