SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment today against Stephen J. Dougan Esq., 57, of Granite Bay, charging him with two counts of assisting in the preparation of a false tax document and corruptly endeavoring to impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue Laws, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Dougan substantially underreported his income to his tax preparers in 2006 and 2007 and claimed certain business expenses to which he was not entitled, all to reduce his tax burden in those years. During an Internal Revenue Service audit of his 2006 tax return, Dougan provided his audit representatives with documents that underrepresented his gross income in 2006 in order to substantiate certain entries on his Schedule C for that year.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael M. Beckwith and Matthew M. Yelovich are prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Dougan faces a maximum statutory penalty of three years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000, or twice the value of the gross gain or loss from the tax violation, for each count of conviction. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.