Council Bluffs, Iowa - A McClelland, Iowa, businessman pleaded guilty today to tax
evasion, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Zuckerman and United
States Attorney Marc Krickbaum for the Southern District of Iowa.
According to documents and information provided to the court, Michael Collins, 49, was
part-owner of a real-estate development firm that earned significant income in 2006. As a result
of his ownership in the company, Collins received approximately $289,000 in income that year,
but did not report it on his individual income tax return. In 2008, the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) contacted Collins regarding the unreported income and Collins filed an amended return
reporting the income and reflecting a tax due of more than $100,000. However, Collins did not
pay the tax liability.
From 2006 through the present, Collins also operated an excavating and trucking company
that generated more than $5.5 million in gross receipts. To evade payment of his outstanding tax
liability, Collins registered the business as well as its bank accounts in the name of nominees,
used nominee entities to conceal over $5 million in gross receipts from the business, filed
fraudulent corporate tax returns that listed nominees as the owners of the business and paid his
personal expenses using the business’ unreported income. Collins also filed fraudulent
documents with the IRS claiming to have no gross business receipts for the company and falsely
told IRS employees that his only source of income was unemployment benefits. He admitted to
causing a tax loss of more than $250,000.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 11, 2018, before United States District Court Judge
Stephanie M. Rose. Collins faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison. He also
faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and United States Attorney Marc
Krickbaum thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the
investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Matthew Hoffman and Lee Langston, who are
prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the
division’s Website.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
