Date: June 22, 2022 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov The owner of a Riverside County-based construction business has pleaded guilty to a federal criminal charge that he filed false tax returns, resulting in a loss of $471,155 to the United States Treasury, the IRS announced today. Peter Han, of Corona, pleaded guilty to one count of subscribing to a false tax return. According to his plea agreement, from at least 2015 to 2020, Han, the owner of PJ Han Inc., doing business as Evergreen Construction, used a check cashing business located in Garden Grove to cash more than $1.6 million in checks he received from clients of Evergreen Construction. Over the same period, Han failed to disclose on his individual income tax returns all the income he earned, reporting only $112,645 in income earned through his business. For example, in 2021, Han reported PJ Han, Inc.'s total income as $18,551 earned from Evergreen Construction on his individual federal income tax return for 2020 when he knew PJ Han, Inc.'s total income was actually $408,251. Han admitted to underreporting his income by tens of thousands of dollars for each of the following tax years: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020. In each instance, Han acted willfully to falsely understate his annual income and minimize his tax liability. "Small business owners such as Mr. Han make up an important, and often difficult to address, portion of the tax gap. The tax gap, which estimates indicate is approximately $441 billion annually, is the difference between the estimated amount of taxes owed to the IRS and the amount that the IRS actually receives each year," said IRS-Criminal Investigation Los Angeles Field Office Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Korner. "Mr. Han's guilty plea sends a clear message that all taxpayers must comply with the law, and that those who intentionally fail to meet their taxpaying responsibilities will be held accountable." United States District Judge Fernando M. Olguin has scheduled a September 29 sentencing hearing, at which time Han will face a statutory maximum sentence of three years in federal prison. IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter. Assistant United States Melissa Rabbani of the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California is prosecuting this case.
