Mansion Ends Up Getting Owner in Hot Water for Tax Evasion
Is it possible to hide anything from the IRS? Even when you think you’re safe, it appears the IRS has an eye in the sky. That eye seems to be all reaching, at least in Pennsylvania. A wealthy real estate developer and CEO of Automated Health Systems owns a luxurious 32,400 square-foot mansion that apparently caught the eye of IRS agents flying in and out of Pittsburgh.
After authorities began to ask questions that eventually lead to the mansion owner’s personal secretary ending up in some serious trouble. That’s because the secretary, who also acted as the bookkeeper for her boss, recently pleaded guilty to tax evasion, which reportedly could be as much as $250 million. The mansion owner has not been charged in the case at this point and his attorney claims that the case is nothing more than a tax dispute.
However, the attorney for the secretary claims that his client was only following her boss’ direction and simply did what he directed her to do. He did concede that it was still criminal activity and his client is aware of that. The scheme reportedly involved re-characterizing her boss’ personal expenses to appear as business expenses. Formal charges include “conspiracy to fraudulently pay for and unlawfully deduct as business expenses, millions of dollars in personal expenses of co-conspirator 1.” It would appear that “co-conspirator 1” is her boss, although he has yet to be named.
The lesson here is if you’re going to build a big mansion, make sure it’s nowhere near a major airport, or else the eye in the sky might decide to take a closer look.
Business Communications
Business Communications By Myron Curry President of BusinessTrainingMedia.com The importance of free-flowing forthright communications, both downward from management to employees and upward from employees to management, can hardly be overemphasized. Whether it’s to support morale and productivity among the workforce or to assure that management takes advantage of employee input, good communications are essential. Where…
Business Rebuilding Trust
Business Rebuilding Trust By Shari Caudron At companies where trust has been broken because of, say, high-profile executive wrongdoing, HR has to step up to the plate and help the leaders regain their credibility. Emmett Seaborn, a principal with Towers Perrin in Stamford, Connecticut, says this is done through an extensive communication effort that involves…
Business Employee Surveys
Business Employee Surveys By Patrick Gilbert, David Slavney, and David Tong Employee motivation is vital to business success. Increasingly, it distinguishes companies that thrive from those that fail to survive. A highly motivated workforce delivers superior products and services, and this in turn leads to greater customer satisfaction and improved sales performance. Given the implications…
Are These Traits Killing Your Leadership Ability?
Are These Traits Killing Your Leadership Ability? To be a good leader requires many attributes. Most good leaders possess the necessary skills to lead their teams and contribute to their companies’ success. However, no one is perfect. And even good leaders aren’t always “on.” Everyone has a bad day, or a bad moment, when they…