Date: January 19, 2024 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Kansas City, KS — A Kansas man was sentenced one year and one day in prison for lying on federal income tax returns. According to court documents, Christopher S. Savell of Overland Park pleaded guilty to three counts of making and subscribing a false income tax return. In his 2016 tax returns, Savell reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to have paid $458,711 in mortgage interest knowing he had actually paid $4,363 in mortgage interest. That same year he also reported to have paid $10,987 in real estate taxes when the actual amount was $5,663. During 2017 tax returns, Savell declared $486,725 in mortgage interest payments when the actual amount was $24,108. He also claimed to have paid $68,980 in real estate taxes when he had paid $10,750. Also in his 2017 tax returns, Savell indicated he paid $36,537 in state income taxes and $109,965 in federal income tax withholdings knowing he paid nothing in either. In 2018 tax returns, Savell falsely stated he'd paid $71,400 in mortgage interest when the true amount was $20,605, and he said he paid $20,315 in real estate taxes after paying $10,315. He submitted documents claiming to have paid $34,033 in state income taxes and $81,252 in federal income tax withholdings. Savell didn't pay state income taxes or federal income tax withholding in 2018. "Taxpayers can't make-up their own rules when it comes to paying their share of taxes, said Thomas F. Murdock, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation (CI), St. Louis Field Office. "Mr. Savell intentionally filed false and fraudulent tax returns which makes him a tax cheat. CI will continue to aggressively pursue those who seek to steal from the American public by cheating the tax system." The CI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Oakley prosecuted the case. CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.
