Philadelphia Businessman Sentenced to One Year in Prison for Evading $148,000 in Taxes

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that William Powell, 65, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 12 months in prison and three years of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Michael M. Baylson, for committing tax evasion. Powell was also ordered to pay $148,984 in restitution and a $50,000 fine.

The defendant was indicted in August 2023 and pleaded guilty to the charges against him in May.

Powell had been performing general contracting work and cleaning services for a federally funded nonprofit organization in the Philadelphia area, but in 2010, he married the executive director of this nonprofit. Conflict-of-interest rules prohibited the nonprofit from retaining Powell's company due to the marriage.

To circumvent these rules, Powell used another person to take over the cleaning business as a nominal owner. Powell continued to run the business, provide the services, and receive compensation from the cleaning business. While hiding his operation of the cleaning service business from 2014 through 2018, Powell earned over $700,000 derived from payments made to the cleaning business by his wife's non-profit entity.

Powell hid this income by receiving cash payments, using a debit card in the name of the cleaning business to pay his personal expenses, failing to file tax returns, and eventually lying to IRS agents when they interviewed him about his activity. By hiding over $700,000 in income from the IRS, Powell evaded paying $148,984 in income taxes.

"Paying the taxes that we lawfully owe is both our civic and legal duty," said U.S. Attorney Romero. "William Powell opted to go another way, concealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in income. In doing so, he cheated both the government and the honest taxpayers who help fill its treasury each year. That's why tax evasion has some serious consequences, as Mr. Powell can now confirm."

"The prosecution of individuals who intentionally conceal income and evade taxes is a vital element of the IRS' enforcement strategy," said Amy MacNeely, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation Philadelphia Field Office. "Those who attempt to hide their income to evade paying taxes, like Mr. Powell did, should know you will be prosecuted."

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael T. Donovan.