Congressional Employee Charged with Tax Crimes

Posted on September 20, 2016

U.S. House of Representatives employee Isaac Lanier Avant of Arlington, Virginia, was recently charged with five counts of willfully failing to file his tax returns.

A House employee since 2002, Avant was charged with failing to file tax returns for 2009 through 2013, inclusive, on wages of over $170,000.00 per year. Further, in May 2005, Avant filed a W-4 with his employer falsely claiming that he was exempt from federal income taxes.

As a result, Avant did not pay any federal withholding tax from his paycheck until the IRS forced his employer to begin withholding in January of 2013. If convicted, Avant faces a statutory minimum sentence of one year in prison for each count.

Intentionally failing to file a tax return is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison. Filing a tax return that intentionally evades or defeats the tax due is a felony punishable by greater than one year in prison. If you have unfiled tax returns or unpaid liability due to the IRS, call us, we can help.