FARGO - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Aug. 19, 2013, Hamzo Omerovic of Fargo, N.D., was sentenced before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen K. Klein for willfully failing to file an income tax return for calendar year 2006. Omerovic pleaded guilty to the Class A Misdemeanor on March 25, 2013.
U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon said, “Failure to file tax returns is a serious crime which can result in prosecutions like this one. Those who criminally evade their duty to file and pay federal taxes unfairly shift their tax burden on to the backs of hard-working Americans who comply with the tax laws."
"The term voluntary compliance means that each of us is responsible for filing a tax return when required and for paying the correct amount of tax," according to Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson of the St. Paul Field Office IRS Criminal Investigation. "That responsibility should not be taken lightly. Tax crimes have erroneously been referred to as victimless, but that position could not be more wrong since we all end up paying when someone attempts to evade our tax system."
Judge Klein sentenced Omerovic to five years of probation under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office, including standard and special conditions of probation. Omerovic was ordered to pay restitution to the United States as determined pursuant to a civil tax audit for tax years 2006, 2007, and 2008. The audit will be conducted by the examination division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Omerovic was also ordered to pay a $25 special assessment.
Omerovic, 27, a self-employed scrap metal dealer, in 2006 purchased and obtained scrap metal in Fargo and the surrounding area, which he then sold to a number of scrap metal dealers, primarily in North Dakota and Minnesota. The investigation conducted by the IRS - Criminal Investigation Division, showed that Omerovic’s gross receipts for the year totaled in excess of $152,000, with an estimated tax loss, for sentencing purposes, of more than $30,000.
Omerovic admitted, in the plea agreement and in court, that he had willfully failed to file a 2006 income tax return with the IRS, even though he had earned sufficient gross income and knew he was required to file a return no later than April 17, 2007.
The case was investigated by the IRS - Criminal Investigation Division.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott S. Schneider is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
