Date: August 4, 2023 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov A Mississippi man was sentenced to 30 months in prison for filing a false corporate income tax return on behalf of his oil and gas leasing business. According to court documents and statements made in court, Jeffrey C. Randall of Jackson, Mississippi, owned and operated an oil and gas lease company, Gulf States Royalty, Ltd. After informing his return preparer that he was unwilling to pay the tax he owed on the $3 million dollars earned by Gulf States in 2008, Randall and his preparer falsely reported more than $2 million dollars in business expenses on Gulf States’ corporate income tax return for that year. Randall then signed the false return and directed his tax return preparer to submit it to the IRS. In total, Randall caused a tax loss to the IRS of $824,036.72. At the sentencing hearing, the United States presented evidence that after being indicted in 2015, Randall earned roughly $2 million in income from his oil and gas business between 2015 and 2021, for which he did not pay any taxes. As a result, the United States argued that Randall caused an additional loss to the IRS of over $700,000, and nearly $300,000 in interest and penalties. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Chief U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III ordered Randall to serve one year of supervised release and to pay $824,036.72 in restitution to the United States. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi made the announcement. IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Trial Attorney Richard (R.J.) Hagerman of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chet W. Kirkham for the Southern District of Mississippi prosecuted the case.
