Date: October 18, 2022 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Louisville, KY — A Louisville attorney was sentenced today to 27 months in prison and was ordered to pay a $15,000 fine. U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office, made the announcement. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Keith Hunter, of Louisville, evaded the payment of federal income taxes, penalties, and interest due and owing by him to the United States for the calendar years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008, and 2011, totaling $1,124,620, by concealing assets in various ways. Among the methods Hunter used to conceal his assets from the United States Internal Revenue Service were storing personal income in a client escrow account, storing personal income in a nominee bank account, purchasing a home through a nominee as an alleged charitable donation, and by recycling cashier's checks, which is the practice of engaging in a cycle of purchasing a cashier's check, using a small portion of the check, and then purchasing another cashier's check of lesser value. The evidence presented at trial showed that Hunter also intentionally provided false and misleading information regarding his assets and income to Internal Revenue Service civil collections personnel. Hunter was also sentenced to 3 years of supervised release upon completion of his term of imprisonment, with a condition that he pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service during his term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. The Internal Revenue Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda E. Gregory and Joel King prosecuted the case with assistance of paralegal Carissa Moss.
