Defendant did not report over $2.6 million in income Date: August 21, 2023 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov A Michigan man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for willfully filing five false tax returns for himself and one of his businesses. According to court documents and statements made in court, Carl L. Collins was a personal injury attorney with offices in Southfield, Michigan. He also owned a real estate company, First Third LLC, and two medical services companies, MedCity Rehabilitation Services LLC and Alpha Living LLC. Collins did not report substantial income he received from these businesses on his personal returns for 2012, 2015 and 2018, and on Alpha Living’s corporate 2015 return. Instead, Collins deposited the funds into Interest on Lawyer’s Trust Accounts (IOLTA), bank accounts used by lawyers solely to hold money in trust for their clients, and he did not disclose this to his return preparers or the Michigan State Bar Foundation, as required. In total, Collins concealed over $2.6 million in income from his tax preparers and the IRS. In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Gershwin A. Drain ordered Collins to serve one year of supervised release and pay a $10,000 fine. A hearing to determine the amount of restitution to be paid is scheduled for Sept. 1. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan made the announcement. IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Kenneth Vert and Jeffrey McLellan of the Justice Department’s Tax Division prosecuted the case.
