Back in October, we wrote about the tax fraud case of former “Jersey Shore” star Mike Sorrentino. As we noted, Sorrentino and his brother have been charged with failing to report business and personal income on tax returns between 2010 and 2012, as well as conspiracy to commit tax fraud. According to the indictment in the case, the brothers failed to report a total of $8.9 million.
For his part, Mike Sorrentino has pleaded not guilty, and was set to go to trial in the case next week. That case has reportedly now been pushed out to March of next year. This, of course, gives him more time to prepare for his trial. Fraud cases typically involve a great deal of records to sort through, so the extra time could be helpful.
Sorrentino reportedly faces two counts of filing a false tax return, though he also apparently failed to file taxes one year. Prosecutors, it seems, have decided not to press that charge. As Forbes’ Robert W. Wood recently pointed out, failure to file a tax return is actually a less serious crime that filing a false return—the former being a misdemeanor and the latter a felony charge. Getting tax filings right is, therefore, important.
In our last post on this issue, we pointed out that tax fraud is a serious crime that needs to be met with a strong defense, particularly in cases where charges are improper. Charges can sometimes be improper because of mistaking negligence for fraud or because the amount in controversy is incorrect. Whatever the case may be, defendants in these cases do well to begin working with an experienced attorney as soon as possible to build a strong defense.
Sources: Forbes, “Jersey Shore’s Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino Tax Evasion Trial Delayed,” Robert W. Wood, Nov. 25, 2014.