United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger today announced the sentencing of JAMES SIGANOS, 50, to 21 months in prison. SIGANOS was charged on May 26, 2015, by felony information, of evading corporate income taxes. He pleaded guilty on June 11, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Ann D. Montgomery in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minn. In addition to the 21 month prison sentence, SIGANOS was also ordered to pay $300,619 in restitution.
“This defendant took affirmative steps to hide his business income from the government,” said Assistant United States Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. “But the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS noticed and stopped Mr. Siganos from continuing to engage in his willful criminal conduct.”
According to his guilty plea and documents filed in court, SIGANOS was the owner of a carpet-cleaning business located in Mound, Minnesota. As owner of the company, the defendant was responsible for filing federal corporate tax returns on behalf of the company. SIGANOS filed a Form 1120S U.S. Income Tax Return for the calendar year 2009, in which he underreported his company’s gross receipts or sales as $246,166.
In 2009, SIGANOS’ company had approximately $591,013 in gross receipts or sales. To avoid paying taxes on the full amount of his company’s revenue, SIGANOS cashed more than 1,400 checks totaling approximately $410,905 at a check cashing facility in Minneapolis. The result was that the defendant underreported his 2009 income by approximately $344,858. SIGANOS filed no corporate income tax returns for the tax years 2010, 2011, and 2012, resulting in an underreporting of approximately $438,991. The total tax loss caused by SIGANOS is approximately $300,000.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division.
This was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.
Defendant Information:
JAMES SIGANOS, 50
Mound, Minn.
Convicted:
• Tax Evasion, 1 count
Sentenced:
• 21 months in prison
• $300,619 in restitution