Defendant allegedly concealed $4.8 million in income earned from commercial real estate business Date: April 24, 2024 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov A federal grand jury in Seattle returned an indictment today charging a Washington man with tax evasion and the filing of false tax returns related to a scheme to conceal income received from his commercial property business. According to the indictment, from at least 2015 to 2020, Steven Loo allegedly controlled and operated eight companies that owned commercial real estate. Each was managed by independent property management companies, which were responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the real estate. Loo allegedly diverted the income he earned from his real estate by instructing the property management companies to issue checks, categorized as asset management fees, to two other entities that Loo controlled. Loo allegedly knew that the funds deposited into these bank accounts, totaling more than $4.8 million, were income to him and that he was required to report and pay tax on the funds. Nevertheless, Loo allegedly filed tax returns for 2015 through 2020 that did not report or pay tax on these funds. By his conduct, Loo allegedly caused a tax loss to the IRS of over $1.6 million. If convicted, Loo faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each tax evasion counts and a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each of the false tax return counts. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman for the Western District of Washington made the announcement. IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. Trial Attorney Regina Jeon of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Dion and Sean Waite for the Western District of Washington are prosecuting the case. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
