Newsletter May 2026
Volume 26, Number 5
Cheshier Tax Resolution Times
The Frontline Defender for the Distressed Taxpayer®
Attorney and Elected Official Accused of Evading $1.1 Million in Taxes-Faces 12 Years in Prison!
John Revella, an attorney in Walden, New York, was indicted on four counts of filing false tax returns for the years 2019 through 2022. An elected official, Revella also serves as the Walden Village manager and as a legislator in the Orange County legislature.
Revella operated a solo real estate law practice and deposited all client funds into an Interest on Lawyer Account (IOLA). He did not maintain a separate operating bank account for the firm. From 2018 to 2022, Revella withdrew legal fees he earned by writing checks to himself from the IOLA account and cashing them. He wrote approximately 1,700 checks worth more than 1.1 million dollars.
Despite this, Revella reported only between $22,700 and $30,750 in annual income on his tax returns from 2019 through 2022. He failed to report more than one million dollars in income during that time, resulting in unpaid taxes exceeding $380,000.
County Tax Collector Collects Funds and Keeps Money for Herself
Karen McGinnis, the tax collector for Fairview Township in Pennsylvania, was found guilty of embezzling more than $400,000 of public funds.
McGinnis was the Township’s tax collector from March 2023 through January 2025, and oversaw property tax payments for the township, Luzerne County, and the Crestwood School District. She diverted the funds by writing checks to herself from accounts she controlled. Before the fraud was discovered she had repaid $40,000 to the property tax accounts.
She was sentenced to 20 months in prison, ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $367,088.35 in restitution.
Question
Why are most accountants so goodlooking?
Answer
They have great figures.
Payroll Scheme Leads to $38 Million in Tax Loss & 10 Years in Jail
Mario Flores Moradel pleaded guilty to a years-long off-the-books payroll scheme that caused more than 38 million dollars in losses to the IRS.
Flores operated a cash payroll for construction workers that allowed employers to avoid paying required employment taxes to the IRS, and bypass workers’ comp insurance.
From 2015 to 2022, Flores and his co-conspirators used a network of shell companies to run a check cashing and cash courier business that processed approximately 89 million dollars in checks from subcontractors. They charged fees based on a percentage of each check. The setup enabled contractors to pay workers in cash without proper payroll reporting and without verifying whether workers were legally authorized to work in the United States.
Flores also filed false tax returns to conceal the scheme and admitted to more than 9.4 million dollars in tax losses to the IRS.
He faces up to 10 years in prison
Alaskan Doctor Orchestrates $12.5 Million Health Care Fraud and Tax Evasion Scheme
Dr. Claribel Tan, an Anchorage rheumatologist, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison and three years of supervised release for orchestrating a 12.5 million dollar health care fraud and evading more than 4.2 million dollars in taxes over a 15-year period.
Dr. Tan and her husband Daniel operated a clinic beginning in 2005, with the fraud occurring from 2009 through 2024.The couple billed insurance companies for 4,829 units of injectable medications while purchasing only 369 units. Patients were injected with free samples, expired drugs, or medications different from those prescribed. Daniel Tan helped facilitate the scheme by submitting fraudulent claims and misrepresenting appointment details.
The couple also falsified tax returns in 2014, 2015 and 2017, and failed to file from 2018 to 2021. A July 2019 search uncovered expired medications and improperly stored syringes. Although they briefly complied, the fraud resumed in 2021 until their indictment in July 2024.
Authorities seized 10.4 million dollars in 2024 and 2025, which the Tans agreed to forfeit, while also agreeing to pay an additional 6.3 million dollars toward restitution and 1.8 million dollars to settle civil claims.
Dr. Tan surrendered her medical license, and her husband received three years of probation, including two years in home confinement.
Valet Owner Gets a Long Term Parking Spot in Prison
James Pavlounis was found guilty of carrying out a 12-year fraud scheme involving Social Security benefits and tax evasion.
Between 2013 and March 2025, Pavlounis fraudulently obtained approximately $646,370 in Social Security disability benefits by claiming he was unable to work. Simultaneously, he was secretly earning hundreds of thousands of dollars from several valet parking businesses he owned.
From 2018 through 2022, he evaded taxes tied to Select Parking Systems Inc, just one of the companies he owned, for the years 2017 through 2021, totaling approximately $248,810 in corporate taxes.
Pavlounis concealed income from the IRS, failed to file personal tax returns, claiming he had no personal income, and used business funds for personal expenses. To further hide his involvement with the valet businesses, he listed a family member as the owner, misled his tax preparer, and created false ledgers claiming $1,054,204 in parking lot rental expenses that did not exist. He later presented these records to IRS agents and a grand jury.
Pavlounis was sentenced to 37 months in prison and three years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $895,180 in restitution, and must forfeit approximately $646,370.
One Tax Preparer,
1,087 False Tax Returns
Amy Evangelista was found guilty of aiding in the preparation and filing of false tax returns, generating 1.23 million dollars in fraudulent tax refunds
From 2017 through 2020, Evangelista falsified client tax returns without their knowledge, inflating refunds by reporting false income, businesses, and deductions. In one case, she claimed $8,830 in business losses on a client’s return despite the client having no business activity. The filing included a fraudulent Form 1099-MISC and lacked any legitimate supporting records.
Evangelista instructed a client who was approached by an IRS investigator to falsely claim employment as a caregiver. She also created a false Form 1099-MISC to support that claim. She later asked hundreds of clients to do the same.
In total, Evangelista helped file 1,087 fraudulent returns using false Schedules C, causing a loss to the IRS of about $1,234,430.
She was sentenced to 18 months in prison and has been ordered to pay full restitution.
Did You Know?
In order to reduce traffic congestion, Singapore has one of the most expensive car ownership systems.
Costs include a 100% to 320% additional registration fee, a certificate of entitlement, often exceeding $100,000, and a high annual road tax. The system taxes luxury cars more heavily.
Important Upcoming Tax Deadlines
May 15th
Texas Franchise Tax Reports due
June 15th
Second quarter 2026 estimated tax payments due
September 15th
Third quarter 2026 estimated tax payments due
Partnership and S Corp Business that filed extensions are due
We’d Like to Hear From You!
If you have an IRS issue, or just want to refer a friend, relative or client, we’d love to hear from you. We can provide a no-obligation confidential consultation to help you solve your IRS problems.
Irving – Adrienne @ 972-514-1424
Duncanville – Linda @ 469-647-9950
Pecos – Crissy @ 432-445-4949 Greenville – Shannon @ 469-256-4056
Enter Our Trivia Contest for a Chance to Win a
$250 Transferrable Gift Certificate!
Take the Trivia Challenge to win!
Each month, we will give you a new trivia question. The first THREE people who call our office with the correct answer will win a free $250 reduction on any IRS Resolution service we provide. Your prize is also transferrable, so use it for yourself, or give it to a family member or friend. Take your best guess and call Nicole @ 469-647-9950
This month’s question is….
In honor of Mother’s Day, according to Guinness World Records, the heaviest baby was born in 1879 in Ohio. How much did the baby weigh?
Call Nicole @ 469-647-9950 with your guess
Your IRS Questions Answered Here…
Question: I’m currently separated from my spouse, who owns his own business, and we are in the middle of getting divorced. I have always filed jointly with my husband and now the IRS is sending me notices saying I owe them $87,350. I have no idea how they are coming up with this amount as my spouse always took care of filing and (and I thought) paying the IRS what was owed.
Answer: You may be able to avoid this liability entirely under the IRS’s Innocent Spouse Relief rules. Under federal law if an income tax return is signed by both husband and wife, both spouses are 100% responsible for the taxes owed. However, the law permits special consideration where a spouse cannot be held responsible for the underreporting of income or the understatement of tax that are attributable to the other spouse.
If you meet the following criteria, you may be able to apply for Equitable Relief under IRS’s innocent spouse rules: If the amount reported on your joint tax return is correct but wasn’t paid with the return you may be eligible. Or, if you feel you were deceived by your spouse or tricked into signing a return you thought was correct this will help your case too. There are many other ways you may be eligible for relief under the IRS’s innocent spouse rules, and we can help sort this out and determine the proper path toward resolution.
We at Cheshier Tax Resolution are experts in IRS tax problem resolution and help taxpayers with their IRS Problems on a daily basis. There is a solution to EVERY problem. Call us today! Ask for Linda @ 469-647-9950 for a FREE, no-obligation confidential consultation!