Opinion ID: 45022
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Tax Evasion (Counts 48 through 50)

Text: DeAngelis argues that the government failed to prove any of the three elements of tax evasion, 26 U.S.C. § 7201: “(1) wilfullness; (2) existence of a tax deficiency; and (3) an affirmative act constituting an evasion or attempted evasion of the tax.” United States v. Kaiser, 893 F.2d 1300, 1305 (11th Cir. 1990). We disagree. First, DeAngelis argues that the government failed to prove that he knew he had an obligation to pay the taxes in question, but the evidence at trial established that DeAngelis possessed W-2s, completed tax returns, and a notice from the IRS, all of which provided notice of outstanding tax liabilities. Second, DeAngelis argues that he had no personal interest in the funds for which he evaded taxation, but DeAngelis’s 2001 tax return listed $1.3 million in personal income, nearly the amount he received from GIASI investors that year. None of the companies with which DeAngelis was involved filed income taxes that year, which evidenced that he viewed those funds as his income. Third, DeAngelis argues that 11 he did not conceal anything from the IRS, but the evidence established that DeAngelis used nominees and kept his name off corporate documents and bank accounts, which, viewed in the light most favorable to the government, supports the tax evasion conviction and the conviction for conspiracy to evade taxation.