October 2024

Volume 114, Number 114

Jesus Zach Abikarram

Freedom Tax Resolution Times

“Read About Taxpayers with IRS Problems & Find Out How to Solve Them”

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

“Dear IRS,
I am writing to
you to cancel my subscription. Please remove my name from your mailing list.” — Snoopy

Employee is “Sew” Busted After Stealing 4.2 Million from Textile Company

Madelyn Hernandez was found guilty of wire fraud and money laundering after she embezzled 4.2 million dollars from her employer.

Hernandez worked for a textile and apparel supply company for 20 years and managed shipping, invoicing and inventory. Between 2018 and 2024, she submitted fake invoices for goods she claimed were from fabric suppliers. The invoices directed payments to bank accounts under her control, including one held under a fictitious company and another under a defunct business.

The scam unraveled when company owners discovered inventory and delivery discrepancies, doctored invoices, bogus proof of delivery, and false inventory reports. When she felt she was about to get caught, Hernandez faked her own death—sending a message to her employer, allegedly from a family member, claiming she had passed away due to illness and surgical complications.

After her arrest, Hernandez admitted she spent the stolen money on gambling and personal expenses. Prosecutors said that she would occasionally return some of the funds she stole so the owners would not find out what she was doing.

She was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and was ordered to forfeit $4,199,498.42—the total amount she illegally obtained between 2018 and 2024.

Digital Dollars, Real Trouble for Tax Evader

Waylon Wilcox pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns and underreporting a total of 13.1 million dollars in income.

In 2021, Wilcox sold 62 CryptoPunks from portions of a digital artwork collection he owned, for $7,402,935. In 2022 he sold 35 CryptoPunks for $4,889,180. In 2021, he failed to report approximately $8,511,238 in income, lowering his tax liability by $2,180,452. In 2022, he underreported $4,599,532, reducing taxes owed by $1,098,623. Digital artworks are considered taxable assets, and gains must be reported. Wilcox faces prison and restitution to the IRS.

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Tax Resolution Times

Accountant Prescribes Himself Millions – IRS Pulls the Plug

Gordian Ndubizu, a professor of accounting at Drexel University in Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for tax evasion and filing false tax returns.

Ndubizu also co-owned a healthcare pharmacy in New Jersey, which operated as an S corp. Pharmacy income was to be reported on his and his wife’s personal tax returns. Instead, Ndubizu inflated the cost of goods sold to mask profits and funneled wire transfers, disguised as business expenses, into personal bank accounts and overseas accounts in Nigeria linked to an automotive company he controlled.

He failed to report 3.28 million dollars in income and evaded 1.25 million dollars in taxes.

Ndubizu is also the founder of the Ndubizu Charitable Foundation, a non-profit in Nigeria that provides small business grants to widows, and education opportunities to orphans.

Down for the Count – Boxing Exec Charged with Tax Evasion

Howard Solomon, the executive director of a non-profit dedicated to providing boxing, mentoring, and services to at-risk youth in Oakland, California, was charged with mail fraud and tax evasion.

Solomon worked for the East Oakland Boxing Association from 2017 to 2021, and managed daily operations, fundraising, programs and staff, and oversaw the budget, finances and community outreach.

During his tenure with the organization he used company funds for personal expenses, including Amazon purchases, a vacation rental and a Ford Explorer. He’s also accused of depositing a check in the amount of $50,000 made out to the organization into a personal bank account. The check was given to him by basketball superstar Steph Curry and his wife Ayesha during an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, titled, “Ellen’s Greatest Night of Giveaways.”

Solomon is accused of underreporting his income and filing false tax returns for the years 2018 through 2021.

He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the mail fraud, and up to 5 years in prison and $100,000 fine for each of the four counts of tax evasion.

Thank you!

Thanks to YOU, the word is spreading. Thanks to my clients and friends who graciously referred me to their friends, clients and relatives last month! I enjoy building my business based on the positive comments and referrals from people just like you.


I just couldn’t do it without you!

Tax Resolution Times

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Franciscan Friar Trades Robes for Orange Jumpsuit

Paul Bielecki, a Manhattan-based Franciscan friar, was sentenced to five years in prison for orchestrating a decade-long fraud scheme involving fake medical clinics in Beirut, Lebanon.

Bielecki exploited his role in the Capuchin Order, a Catholic order of priests and brothers, falsely claiming to run two medical clinics in Lebanon. He told donors he was raising money for medicine, incubators, food, and an ambulance. He also falsely claimed that he was a physician, a vascular surgeon, a cardiac surgeon, and a general surgeon, who had earned multiple Ph.D. degrees. After a much publicized explosion in Beirut in 2020, he claimed to have been injured in the blast.

Bielecki solicited donations via church events, radio shows, podcasts, and crowdfunding platforms. More than 350 people donated $560,000 to the cause. Despite having taken a vow of poverty, the friar lived lavishly—spending funds on first-class travel, cosmetic surgery, a $334 a month luxury gym membership, trips to the Hamptons, and upscale dining.

In addition to the prison term, Bielecki was sentenced to three years of supervised release, ordered to forfeit $563,448 and pay restitution.

Are You My Next Client of the Month?

Every month I choose a very special Client of the Month. It’s my way of acknowledging good friends and saying “thanks!” to those who support me and my business with referrals, word of mouth and repeat business.

You might be my next Client of the Month too! Watch for your name here in an upcoming month.

Skipper Skips Taxes, Sails into Prison

Paul Walczak, the owner of several healthcare companies in Florida, was found guilty of failing to pay over employment taxes and failing to file his taxes.

Walczak employed over 600 people and oversaw $24 million in annual payroll. From 2016 to 2019, he withheld $7,432,223.80 in taxes from employees’ paychecks—but never passed the funds along to the IRS.

Instead, he splurged on personal luxuries, including more than one million dollars for a yacht. He transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars into personal bank accounts and skipped out on $3,480,111 in employer tax obligations for Social Security and Medicare.

By 2018, despite earning a $360,000 salary and receiving $450,000 in transfers from his business, Walczak stopped filing personal tax returns. In 2019, he created a separate company to hide control behind a family member, funneled $200,000 to a relative’s account, $250,000 to his wife, and more than $800,000 to third parties for clothing and fishing expenses.

He caused the IRS a tax loss of $10,912,334.80, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $4,381,265.76 in restitution.

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Tax Resolution Times

Did You Know?

If a ransom is paid in the United States, and it is reported to the Securities Exchange Commission and the police, it can be listed as a tax deduction.

Thank you for the Kind Words…

… I used one of those Runoff the Mill Tax Preparations firm and the preparer kept making it show like I had a loss in my business… I had no business and no loss… The IRS was billing me an outrageous amount. I learn of Freedom Tax Resolution, and they negotiated with the IRS for me. I’m very happy with their service.

-Earle G.

I’d Like to Hear From You!

If you have an IRS issue, or just want to refer a friend, relative or client, we’d love to hear from you. We can provide a no-obligation confidential consultation to help you solve your IRS problems.

Freedom Tax Resolution
600 W Hallandale Beach Blvd Ste 4
Hallandale Beach FL 33009
954-361-7400
jesus@freedomtaxresolution.com

Enter Our Trivia Contest for a Chance to Win a $250 Transferrable Gift Certificate!

Take the Trivia Challenge to win!

Each month, I’ll give you a new trivia question. The first THREE people who call my office with the correct answer win a free $250 reduction on any IRS service I provide. Your prize is also transferrable, so use it for yourself, or give it to a family member or friend. Take your best guess and call me at 954-361-7400

This month’s question is… 

How many Mother’s Day cards are sold every year in the United States?

a) 78 million

b) 225 million

c) 113 million

d) 43 million

Your IRS Questions Answered Here…

Question: I’m currently separated from my spouse, who owns his own business, and we are amid getting a divorce.  I have always filed jointly with my husband and now the IRS is sending me notices stating I owe $87,000.  I have no idea how they are coming up with this amount as my spouse always took care of paying the IRS what was owed.

Answer: You may be able to avoid this liability entirely under the IRS’s Innocent Spouse Relief rules.  Under federal law if an income tax return is signed by both husband and wife, both spouses are 100% responsible for the taxes owed.  However, the law permits special consideration where a spouse cannot be held responsible for the underreporting of income or the understatement of tax that are attributable to the other spouse.

If you meet the following criteria, you may be able to apply for Equitable Relief under IRS’s innocent spouse rules:  If the amount reported on your joint tax return is correct but wasn’t paid with the return you may be eligible. Or, if you feel you were deceived by your spouse or tricked into signing a return you thought was correct, this will help your case too.  There are many other ways you may be eligible for relief under the IRS’s innocent spouse rules, and we can help sort this out and determine the proper path for resolution.

We at Freedom Tax Resolution are experts in IRS tax problem resolution and help taxpayers with their IRS Problems every day.  There is a solution to EVERY problem. Call us today! 954-361-7400 for a FREE confidential consultation

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