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Friday, March 04, 2005

Ind. Decisions - Update on "Must read" series on tax fraud case before Judge Young

A Feb. 17 ILB entry quoted from Maureen Hayden's stories in the Evansville Courier& Press about a bargain struck by the U.S. Attorney with an accountant charged with embezzling $370,000 in tax payments from Evansville business owner Dennis Owens. The defendant-accountant would not have to repay any of the money, but Owens, the businessman/victim, would remain liable to the IRS. More today:

A federal judge decided Thursday that nearly 3½ years in prison wasn't enough time for an accountant who admitted he stole $390,000 from an Evansville businessman. Saying he was obligated to protect the public from what he called a "conniving" thief, U.S. District Judge Richard Young sentenced the defendant, Michael G. Titzer, 53, to a term of 13½ years in a federal prison, on charges of tax and bank fraud.

A federal prosecutor's deal would have allowed Titzer to serve 41 months in prison and keep a $170,000 house paid for with stolen money. The sentence departed dramatically from what U.S. Attorney Susan Brooks' had recommended for Titzer, who admitted in court that he'd stolen almost $790,000 from family, friends and a former employer over the last two decades, while working as an accountant. Even Titzer conceded the prosecutor's recommended sentence wasn't tough enough. * * *

Titzer appeared surprised by the sentence. Moments earlier he promised never to commit another crime and had heard Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Shellenbarger make a case for sending him to prison for only 41 months, a term that falls within the federal sentencing guidelines. * * *

The money stolen by Titzer was supposed to pay the federal employee withholding taxes from Owens' road construction business, TD&O. Since it never got paid, the Internal Revenue Service told Owens he's still liable for it. The IRS is now demanding Owens pay the $370,000 again, plus the penalties, fines and interest that have been accruing. At last count, it totalled more than $1 million. Owens wasn't in court Thursday for the sentencing, but his attorney David Robinson was. "Mr. Owens couldn't be here today," Robinson told Young. "He's out working to earn money to pay his taxes."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 4, 2005 03:19 PM
Posted to Ind Fed D.Ct. Decisions