Las Vegas man ordered to pay $1.9 million in restitution in income tax evasion case
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The owner of Nevada real estate company Turn Two Inc. was sentenced on Friday to a year and a day in prison for in a federal tax evasion case, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Scott H. Lawrence, a Las Vegas man, pleaded guilty on July 26, 2022. At sentencing, Lawrence was ordered to pay $1,905,325 in restitution to the United States in the federal income tax evasion scheme.
Lawrence was accused of evading taxes from about 2009 through 2019, according to court documents and statements made in court.
“In March 2010, the IRS levied Lawrence’s personal bank account in an attempt to satisfy an outstanding tax debt,” according to a DOJ news release. “After learning of the IRS levy, Lawrence began taking steps to thwart IRS collection efforts by, among other things, cashing large portions of his wife’s paycheck to keep the funds out of a bank account the IRS could levy.”
The scheme continued into 2011 as Lawrence began depositing his wife’s paycheck and other earnings into a corporate bank account held by Turn Two. Investigators said he used that account to pay most of the family’s living expenses.
“Lawrence then directed his wife to create a new interior design business, D Lawrence Hospitality LLC (DLH), and to open a business bank account for DLH. Lawrence funneled much of his and his wife’s personal income through DLH to impede the IRS’s ability to collect the couple’s unpaid taxes,” the DOJ news release said.
“For years, Lawrence concealed the existence and personal use of DLH’s bank account from the IRS,” the release said.
Through his lawyer, Lawrence sent a “materially misleading letter” to the IRS and submitted tax payments using an intentionally overdrawn bank account.
U.S. District Judge Anne R. Traum for the District of Nevada ordered Lawrence to serve two years of supervised release in addition to the prison time and restitution.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada made the announcement. The IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Patrick Burns and Boris Bourget of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
