According to WebCPA, Joe Francis, producer of Girls Gone Wild video series has sued the IRS for levying and freezing his assets which included a bank account levy. In October, Francis pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns and will be facing jail time. He has agreed to pay IRS back taxes and interest totaling $249.7k in addition to a $10k fine.
In exchange, Francis wants the charges dropped for pleading guilty to two misdemeanors. He claims his Certified Public Accountant, Michael Barrett, stole millions of dollars from the company and then contacted the IRS for a whistle-blower award.
Immediately after the judge accepted a plea deal, the IRS filed a lien for $33.8 million for 3 years of back taxes. Francis claims that the IRS is levying his assets and he argues that the only way the IRS can freeze his assets are if he preparing to flee the country, moves his assets out of IRS’s reach or if he goes bankrupt. Francis states the only reason the IRS is freezing his assets is to get back at him or for spite.
As you can see, with tax revenues dropping, local, State and Federal tax collectors are doing everything they can to recover taxes owed or back taxes. Now is not the time to hide from taxing authorities as funds have been increased for tax collectors to increase collection efforts in order to decrease the tax gap (what individuals and businesses owe versus what is paid).
This post was published on December 29, 2009