PENSACOLA, FLORIDA - Yesterday, Chief U.S. District Court Judge M. Casey Rodgers announced the court’s guilty verdict against Justin T. Phan, 51, of Pensacola, for filing false tax returns. Earlier this year, the court held a bench trial on a three-count Indictment charging Phan with filing false tax returns. Sentencing is scheduled before Chief Judge Rodgers on Aug. 19, 2016, at 1:00 p.m. The court’s verdict was announced by Christopher P. Canova, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Phan owned and operated the business Global Travel and Tours on Mobile Highway in Pensacola, Florida. As a part of the business, Phan prepared income tax returns for individuals in the local Vietnamese community. Phan also sold airline tickets, prepared immigration documents, and transferred money outside the United States for his customers.
During the course of the four-day bench trial, the government proved that Phan prepared and filed false tax returns for himself for tax years 2008, 2009, and 2010. As a part of his tax returns, Phan falsely claimed that this total income for the respective years was $14,317, $23,948, and $23,649. However, the government showed that Phan’s total income for each of the years was in excess of $100,000. As a result of his false tax returns, Phan kept from paying in excess of $100,000 in taxes.
The charges were the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tiffany H. Eggers.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
For more information, contact:
Amy Alexander, Public Information Officer
(850) 216-3854, amy.alexander@usdoj.gov
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
