Charlotte Tax Fraud Lawyers

Last Updated on: 13th December 2025, 01:34 pm

Charlotte Tax Fraud Lawyers: When Evidence Destruction Adds Years to Sentences

Andrivia Wells ran Rush Tax Service in Charlotte. When a federal grand jury subpoenaed her business records, she didn’t comply. Instead, on June 30, 2019, a fire was intentionally set that destroyed the very documents investigators wanted. She thought burning evidence would make her problems disappear.

She was wrong. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. sentenced her to 70 months in federal prison. The sentence reflected not just the $3 million tax fraud she committed, but the obstruction of justice from destroying evidence. The fire that was supposed to eliminate proof became proof of consciousness of guilt. Wells was also ordered to pay $3,373,595 in restitution.

That case tells you everything about how tax fraud works in Charlotte. The cover-up makes it worse. The destruction of evidence adds charges. And the Western District of North Carolina responds with sentences that compound dramatically when defendants try to obstruct investigations.

The Tax Preparer Who Set Fire To Evidence

Heres exactly what Andrivia Wells did wrong. She ran a tax preparation business. She filed fraudulent returns for clients. She committed roughly $3 million in tax fraud. All of that was bad enough – but then she made it catastrophicaly worse.

When the grand jury subpoenaed her business records, she had a choice. She could comply and face prosecution for the fraud she had already committed. Or she could destroy the evidence and hope nobody would notice. She chose destruction. She chose arson. She chose to compound tax fraud with obstruction of justice.

Think about the calculation that must have gone through her mind. Documents exist that prove fraud. Subpoena demands those documents. If documents disappear, maybe prosecution fails. So she burned them. But heres what she didnt understand – destroying evidence dosent make a case go away. It makes the case worse. It proves you knew you were guilty. It adds federal obstruction charges to whatever you were already facing.

OK so the fire destroyed documents that were responsive to the grand jury subpoena. The court found that Wells obstructed the administration of justice. That obstruction finding added significantly to her sentence. The underlying fraud was serious. The destruction of evidence made it devastating.

70 months in federal prison. Nearly six years. Plus $3.3 million in restitution that will follow her forever. The tax preparation business that was supposed to help clients became a fraud operation. The fire that was supposed to save her became evidence against her.

185 Months For The Payroll Services Operator

Arthur S. Weiss operated a payroll services company – the kind of business that handles employment taxes for other companies. His job was literaly to ensure payroll taxes got paid properly. Instead, he failed to pay more then $9 million in federal payroll taxes to the IRS.

His sentence: 185 months in federal prison. Over fifteen years. Plus convictions for tax fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, bank loan fraud, money laundering, and bankruptcy fraud. The charges piled up becuase the fraud touched every aspect of his business operations.

Heres the thing about payroll services fraud. When you run a company that handles other peoples payroll taxes, you have a fiduciary duty. Those taxes belong to the government. You hold them in trust. When you fail to remit them, your not just committing tax fraud – your stealing from both the government and from the employees whose taxes were supposed to be paid.

$9 million in unpaid payroll taxes. That money came from employees who thought there taxes were being handled properly. There Social Security contributions werent made. There Medicare payments werent remitted. There income tax withholding never reached the IRS. And Weiss was the one responsable for all of it.

185 months. Calculate that for a moment. Thats more then fifteen years in federal prison. For employment tax fraud. The sentence reflects not just the magnitude of the theft but the betrayal of trust inherent in running a payroll services company. When the person whos supposed to ensure compliance becomes the person stealing the most, courts respond with devastating sentences.

$2.5 Million In Employment Taxes From Charlotte Bars

Peter Anthony Thomas ran bars in Charlotte, Miami Beach, and Baltimore. Between 2017 and 2023, he caused those businesses to fail to pay over more then $2.5 million in employment taxes – including more then $1.7 million in trust fund taxes withheld from employees wages.

His sentence: 18 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, plus $2,526,131.99 in restitution to the IRS. The bar owner who should have been paying his employees taxes properly instead stole from them for six years.

Heres what employment tax fraud looks like across multiple locations. Thomas didnt just run one business that failed to pay taxes. He ran bars in three different cities – all failing to remit employment taxes. The pattern showed this wasnt accidental. This wasnt a cash flow problem that got out of control. This was systematic theft from employees at multiple locations over multiple years.

The multi-state nature of Thomas’s fraud probly made investigation more complex – but it also made prosecution more certain. When you commit the same crime in Charlotte, Miami Beach, and Baltimore, your creating a pattern that proves willfulness.

The Businessmen Who Ran rFactr Into The Ground

Richard Brasser and Gregory Gentner ran rFactr, a Charlotte business. Between 2013 and 2017, they failed to comply with the companys employment tax obligations. By the time investigators caught up with them, the company owed more then $1.1 million in employment taxes.

A federal jury convicted them both on multiple counts of failing to account for and pay over trust fund taxes. The sentence: 12 months and one day in prison for each, followed by a year of supervised release.

OK so heres what happens when business partners commit tax fraud together. They both get prosecuted. They both face trial. They both get convicted. The “he handled the finances” defense dosent work when both partners benefited from the fraud and both had responsibility for compliance.

The rFactr case demonstrates a pattern common in Charlotte employment tax fraud. Business owners decide to use employee withholding for operations rather then remitting it to the government. They tell themselves theyll catch up later. They never catch up. The debt accumulates. And eventualy federal investigators come calling.

The Pastor Who Committed Tax And Wire Fraud

Frank Jacobs, Sr. was a Charlotte pastor. He was supposed to provide spiritual leadership to his congregation. Instead, he pleaded guilty to tax and wire fraud – for filing a false tax return and using fraudulent information to obtain a COVID-19 relief loan.

Think about that for a moment. A pastor. Someone who stands before a congregation and preaches about morality and ethics. And he committed fraud against both the IRS and pandemic relief programs designed to help struggling businesses survive.

The COVID relief fraud connection shows a pattern that emerged during the pandemic. People who were already committing tax fraud saw pandemic relief as another opportunity. The same mindset that enables tax evasion enables stealing from programs meant to help others. Its truely remarkable how many tax fraudsters saw pandemic relief as just another opportunity to steal.

Tax Shelter Attorneys Become Defendants

The Western District of North Carolina convicted tax attorneys and an insurance agent in a tax shelter scheme. The professionals who are supposed to help clients navigate tax law legally became defendants for helping clients evade taxes illegally.

Heres the inversion that makes professional fraud cases so significant. These werent random fraudsters who stumbled into tax crime. These were licensed professionals – attorneys who understood exactly what constituted legal tax planning versus illegal tax evasion. There credentials certified there expertise. That expertise became evidence of willfulness.

When tax attorneys get convicted of tax fraud, it sends a message throughout the professional community. The credentials that enable you to advise others on compliance become evidence against you when you cross the line. You cant claim ignorance. You cant claim misunderstanding. Your professional license proves you knew exactly what you were doing – and did it anyway.

North Carolina’s Dual Prosecution Reality

Unlike states without income tax, North Carolina has a 5.25% flat rate state income tax. This creates exposure that single-income-tax states dont have. Tax fraud in Charlotte can be prosecuted at BOTH the state and federal level – creating potential for consecutive sentences and compounding penalties.

The North Carolina Department of Revenue has its own enforcement mechanisms. State-level audits can discover fraud that gets refered to federal authorities. Federal investigations can reveal state-level violations. The coordination between state and federal prosecutors means exposure multiplies rather then overlaps.

And North Carolina’s professional licensing boards add another layer. The state bar reviews attorney convictions. Accounting boards review CPA convictions. Each professional credential creates another institution that will examine tax fraud convictions and impose there own consequences.

The Western District’s Public Warning

The Western District of North Carolina has issued explicit public warnings about tax fraud prosecution. The message to potential tax cheats from federal prosecutors: tax crimes result in criminal prosecution, prison sentences, and fines.

This isnt hypothetical. The Weiss case – 185 months. The Wells case – 70 months plus arson-related obstruction findings. The Thomas case – 18 months plus $2.5 million restitution. The Brasser and Gentner case – jury conviction and prison for both partners. Every case proves the warning is real.

The US Attorneys Office for the Western District maintains dedicated prosecutors for financial crimes. IRS Criminal Investigation coordinates with DOJ Tax Division on major cases. By the time charges get filed, investigations have been running for months or years.

The Professional License Catastrophe

Charlotte has a substantial professional population – attorneys serving the banking industry, accountants handling corporate matters, financial advisors managing portfolios. Many of these professionals dont realize that tax fraud can destroy there careers independant of criminal penalties.

The North Carolina State Bar investigates attorneys convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude. Tax fraud qualifies. John Francis Hanzel was a Charlotte-area attorney who pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return after advising clients on offshore accounts. His law license – the credential that enabled his career – became another casualty of his fraud.

For accountants in Charlotte, the irony is particulary harsh. The NC Board of CPA Examiners licenses accountants precisely becuase the public trusts them with financial matters. A tax fraud conviction destroys that trust permanantly. License revocation follows serious convictions.

Defense Strategy In Charlotte

If your facing tax fraud exposure in Charlotte, the calculus involves understanding how the Western District operates.

The Wells case shows what happens when you obstruct – 70 months plus obstruction findings for burning documents. The Weiss case shows the maximum exposure for employment tax fraud – 185 months for $9 million in payroll theft. The Thomas case shows how multi-location fraud creates pattern evidence. The Brasser and Gentner case shows that business partners get prosecuted together.

Heres what these cases have in common. By the time defendants faced prosecution, there options had narrowed dramaticaly. The investigations were complete. The evidence was gathered. The schemes were documented. The only questions were conviction and sentencing.

The time to address tax fraud exposure is before any of that happens. Voluntary disclosure programs exist. Coming forward before the IRS finds you creates opportunities to resolve issues civily – with penalties and interest, but potentialy without prison. And absolutely NOT destroying evidence – the Wells case proves that obstruction makes everything worse.

Why Charlotte Specificaly Creates Exposure

Charlotte’s economy creates particular tax fraud exposure. Major banking operations with complex compensation structures. Professional services firms with sophisticated clients. Real estate development with capital gains and exchange arrangements. The banking sector alone creates thousands of high-income returns that the IRS monitors closely.

The concentration of financial services in Charlotte means more complex returns for the IRS to scrutinize. Complex returns get audited more frequently. More audits mean more discoveries. More discoveries mean more referrals to criminal investigation.

If theres tax fraud exposure in your situation – unreported income, employment taxes not properly paid, returns prepared by someone now under investigation – the time to address it is before anyone starts looking. Appeals from the Western District go to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Western District of North Carolina has shown through the Wells case, the Weiss case, the Thomas case, and dozens of others that it will pursue tax fraud aggressively. The 90% federal conviction rate means most people who get charged get convicted. Your exposure persists untill you address it. The question is wheather you address it on your terms or the governments.