When they set the date for Valentine’s day, they avoided April 15 for good reasons. True love and taxes often mix badly. Consider:
The centerpiece of a multi-state federal investigation into tax fraud and identity theft was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and fraudulent use of bank cards. Ken Siebert, an out-of-work carpenter and former Las Vegas bodyguard, was arrested on Interstate Highway 29 north of Council Bluffs last February following a traffic stop for an improper license plate. Authorities looking for drugs ultimately found more than $4,500 in cash and 209 bank cards in various names.
What was our former bodyguard doing on the lonely highway between Council Bluffs and Sioux City? Chasing down an old flame:
Siebert, who was moved in June to the Polk County Jail, eventually told a U.S. Secret Service agent that he and a friend had been following a winding route through Colorado, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri as part of a long trip to hook up with a former girlfriend of Siebert’s in North Dakota.
Next time, just send flowers. Nor is this the only time where taxes and love went wrong. Last year a Florida man got slapped by the Tax Court with civil fraud penalties in a case involving financing a girlfriend’s business. This apparently went over badly with the wife:
..who was estranged from petitioner at the time of the audit, [and who] hired separate counsel to represent her in relation to the audit. She cooperated with the examining agents and provided some relevant documentation that she obtained from petitioner's residence.
Guys, you don’t need me to tell you whether it’s wise to cheat on your wife. That wasn’t on the exam when I sat for it. But if you move out, for heaven’s sake, don’t leave the incriminating tax records behind. They’re even more dangerous than your sex tapes, which at least are useless to the IRS.
