Tax Fraud

The United States government uses the term "voluntary compliance" to describe every citizen's responsibility to fill out a tax return when required, and for paying the correct amount of tax. Very often individuals can make mistakes, and in some cases; intentionally attempt to evade, or take advantage of their legal responsibility by providing fraudulent information. This is what is called "Tax Fraud".

Although there are different types of tax fraud, the most common is when an individual or business entity intentionally falsifies information on a tax return in order to limit or decrease his or her amount of tax liability. This is done simply by claiming false deductions, disguising personal expenses as business expenses or by deliberately failing to report income.

Types of Tax Fraud

Basically, any information you provide that is not accurate can be interpreted as Tax Fraud, even an honest mistake, that's why it is important to understand exactly what the IRS Criminal Investigation Unit ( CIU ) looks for when tax fraud is suspected. Some of the ways you be charged with tax fraud include:

Knowingly changing your income

Possessing two set of books

Claiming false deductions

Concealing or transferring assets or income

Over reporting the amount of deductions

Using false amounts in books and records

Recording personal expenses as business expenses

Tax Fraud consequences in Rhode Island

The penalties for criminal tax fraud in the state of Rhode Island are very serious, and may result in up to 5 years imprisonment. In addition to jail time, an individual found guilty of tax fraud may even face fines of up to $500,000, including the court costs for each individual tax crime.

Once this process is complete, the IRS CIU will refer the case back to the Examination Division where more accurate tax calculations will be made and a tax fraud penalty will be added to any criminal tax fraud fines.

Have you been charged with Tax Fraud?

Like any criminal conviction, a tax fraud charge can wreak havoc on your record, and can potentially affect virtually every area of your life, making it almost impossible to find employment. This is especially true within specialized fields such as public servitude or politics, where personal character is paramount. If you have recently been arrested in the state of Rhode Island and charged with Tax Fraud, please contact Criminal Defense Attorney John L. Calcagni now at (401) 351-5100 for a free consultation and more information.

Eluding Police Case Result

If you have been charged with a crime in RI or MA, contact Criminal Defense Attorney John L. Calcagni now at (401) 351-5100 for a free consultation or more information.

Eluding Police: Filed. Police stopped a motorist on the highway after observing him travel at excessively high speeds weaving in and out of traffic. When officers pulled the motorist over, they noticed his truck was slightly ajar. The motorist claimed to be driving a rental vehicle and had no knowledge of the open trunk. Officers obtained the motorist’s license and rental registration to run a criminal background check. This check revealed to officers that the motorist was released from prison after serving long jail sentence for murder, and had also been recently charged with narcotics trafficking, a charge that was subsequently dismissed. Based on this information, the patrol officer called for back-up assistance of more police officers. When the motorist observed multiple police cars pull in behind his stopped car along the highway, he panicked, started his engine and sped off. The motorist fled police on the highway from Rhode Island and into neighboring Massachusetts. He was ultimately apprehended and charged with Eluding Police. The frightened motorist retained Attorney Calcagni to represent him against this misdemeanor charge. The motorist admitted his responsibility before the Court and pleaded for mercy at the time of sentencing. Because of his criminal history, the prosecution advocated for a sentence of one year in jail, to be suspended for one year, with probation. Attorney Calcagni vehemently opposed this sentencing recommendation and zealously advocated for his client who, though a felon, paid his debt to society and feared law enforcement. Attorney Calcagni successfully convinced the Court to not impose the sentence recommended by prosecutors and instead file this matter for one year. Providing the man is not charged with a new offense in the next year, he will be eligible to have his case sealed and he will not incur a criminal conviction from this incident. Congratulations to this client.

Arrest Warrant Client Testimonial

If you have been arrested or are facing criminal charges in RI or MA, contact John L. Calcagni at (401) 351-5100 now for a free consultation or more information.

“Attorney Calcagni honestly and truly made a difference in my life. He helped me vacate four different arrest warrants in a manner that prevented me from going to jail and closed out all of my cases with no additional punishment. I cannot explain with words the sincere gratitude that I have for the expert legal representation he provided to me. He is an awesome attorney. I will never hesitate to recommend him to anyone. It is my pleasure to pass along my great experience with him to others.” - MC

Assault and Disorderly Conduct Case Results

If you have been charged with the crime of Assault or Disorderly Conduct, contact Criminal Defense Attorney John L. Calcagni at (401) 351-5100 now for a free consultation or more information.

Simple Assault and Disorderly Conduct: Dismissed. 

Intoxicated college student was involved in a melee on campus with a group of other students.  Campus security or public safety officers arrived on scene and dispersed the crowd.  A campus security officer, attempting to investigate the assault, approached an intoxicated college student and requested the student’s identification card.  The student refused to produce his ID.  In response, the public safety officer snatched from the student’s hand his cellular phone.  The officer then offered to trade back the student’s phone for his ID. The student verbally agreed to the trade, but instead, tried to retrieve his phone without producing his ID.  A struggled ensued between the officer and student at which time the student struck the officer in the face with a closed fist and attempted to flee.  Several officers pursued the student and tackled him to the ground.  The student continued to physically struggle until he was ultimately subdued by both public safety officers and local police officers who were called to the scene.  For this series of events, the student was charged with both Simply Assault on the public safety officer and Disorderly Conduct for his fighting behavior.  The student and his family retained Attorney Calcagni to defend against these criminal charges.  Attorney Calcagni advocated on behalf of this first-time offender who was intoxicated at the time of the offense and had ambitions of enlisting into the military.  At a pretrial conference, Attorney Calcagni successfully negotiated for the dismissal of these charges.  Congratulations to this client.

Fugitive from Justice Criminal Defense Attorney Case Result

If you are charged with a criminal offense in RI or MA, contact Criminal Defense Attorney John L. Calcagni now at (401) 351-5100 for a free consultation and more information.

Fugitive from Justice for More Than Ten Years:  Surrendered and Cases Dismissed. 

A man had four separate warrants for his arrest.  The warrants each related to old cases for which the man had previously been criminally charged and released on bail, but subsequently failed to appear in Court. 

The cases dated back to 1996, 1997 (two cases) and 2002, respectively.  The man recently learned of the pending warrants and retained Attorney Calcagni to negotiate his surrender before the Court.  Attorney Calcagni notified the District Attorney’s Office and Probation Department (the man was also on probation from these old cases) of the man’s desire to self-surrender on the arrest warrants. 

The State took the position that when and if the man chose to voluntarily surrender, it would recommend to the Court that he be sentenced to six (6) months in jail as punishment for the old cases.  Attorney Calcagni advised his client of this unfavorable prospective sentencing recommendation by the State. 

Notwithstanding the possibility he could face jail time, the man still sought to surrender himself to the Court.  Upon doing so, Attorney Calcagni knew he would have to strongly and creatively advocate on the man’s behalf to resolve his cases through some disposition other than jail. 

Attorney Calcagni and his client appeared before the Court to surrender on the arrest warrants.  As a result, the warrants were vacated.  However, in order to dispose of the open cases, Attorney Calcagni successfully convinced the Court to allow his client to pay outstanding fines, assessments and restitutions on the old cases instead of going to jail. 

In support of this non-jail sentencing recommendation, Attorney Calcagni educated the Court that his client has tragically suffered a traumatic brain injury years prior, as well as a host internal injuries from a life threatening accident when he fell several stories from scaffolding while working on a construction job.  As a result, the man spent the vast majority of the past several years undergoing surgeries and other medical treatment, which caused him to forget about or otherwise lose track of his court obligations.  Attorney Calcagni also stressed his client’s integrity and commitment to justice by self-surrendering to the Court in face of the State’s representation that it would seek jail as a consequence for the client’s absence and prior charged misconduct. 

Overall, Attorney Calcagni successfully persuaded the Court, Probation Department and District Attorney’s Office to allow the man to pay his financial debts to the Court and for his cases to all be disclosed without any further punishment, to include jail.  Congratulations to this client who sought to clear his name and who hired the right attorney to steer him clear of jail or further criminal punishment.

Military Drug Charge Case Results

If you are a member of the armed forces and need assistance with a military criminal charge, contact Military Criminal Defense Attorney John L. Calcagni at (401) 351-5100 now for more information and assistance.

 

Cocaine Use: Finding of No Misonduct and Retained for Future Military Service. 

A U.S. Army National Guard Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) tested positive for cocaine use during a unit-wide urinalysis for unlawful drug use.  The NCO, a female of Latin-American decent, consumed a Latin herbal tea made partially with coca leaves, a major component to cocaine, several hours before the urinalysis.  The NCO’s family member offered her the tea as a home remedy for an upset stomach.  The NCO consumed the tea without realizing it was of the type made with cocoa leaves and thereafter attended her scheduled monthly battle drill.  While there, she participated in a urinalysis that detected the cocaine metabolite in her system.  In accordance with army regulations, the NCO was both flagged from favorable personnel actions and processed for administrative separation from military service.  The NCO was in the zone at the time for re-enlistment and promotion with plans to attend both Air Assault and Officer Candidate School.  She was also a leading candidate for a full-time AGR position with the National Guard.  Because of the positive urinalysis and resulting flagging action, all of these plans were placed on hold.  Needless to day, the NCO had a lot on the line and much to lose with the pending separation action, to include her military career.

The NCO was represented by Attorney John L. Calcagni III for purposes of her separation hearing board.  Attorney Calcagni worked hand-in-hand with his client to prepare an ironclad defense at the hearing.  Attorney Calcagni’s defense employed a two-part strategy.  First, Attorney Calcagni sought to highlight for the board members the NCO’s impeccable service record.  This female had nearly ten (10) years of military service at the time.  She had previously deployed to Iraq.  She was also highly regarded among her peers and by her chain of command, to include both her Battalion Commander and Battalion Sergeant Major.  Similarly, her Company Commander and First Sergeant gave her stellar reviews.  She also had countless certificates, achievements and awards in her service record.  Attorney Calcagni marshaled this information before the board members in the form of both live and recorded witness testimony as well as documents from the NCO’s personnel files.

The second prong of Attorney Calcagni’s defense was to demonstrate that the NCO innocently ingested the cocoa tea without knowing of its chemical make-up.  Part of this defense prong was to establish the small amount of cocaine base in each tea bag, and how that small amount ingested close in time to a urinalysis could yield results equal or similar to that of the NCO.  Lastly, Attorney Calcagni sought to show that this small amount of cocaine base, if ingested into the body, would not produce any psychological or physiological effects that would give notice to an ingested illicit substance.  To obtain and present this evidence, Attorney Calcagni underwent a nationwide search for toxicologists with Department of Defense (DOD) and/or military backgrounds.  He located such an expert with extensive experience performing urinalysis testing for the U.S. Army.  Attorney Calcagni then employed an investigator to go into the local community to purchase the cocoa tea in question, which is available for sale in inner city Hispanic markets.  The investigator acquired the type and brand tea consumed by the NCO.  He also acquired more potent samples from the local market place.  A sample of the type and brand of tea consumed by the NCO was then shipped to a laboratory, at the toxicologist’s instruction, for chemical testing.  This testing confirmed Attorney Calcagni’s theory – that someone of the NCO’s height and weight, who consumed one standard cup of the brewed cocoa tea within hours of a urinalysis, would test positive for the presence of cocaine as did this unlucky Soldier.  The toxicologist completed a report of the laboratory’s findings and set forth his opinion, which was that one bag of the tea contained enough cocaine base such that if consumed within hours of the urinalysis, would yield test results for the presence of cocaine in a similar quantity as the NCO.  He further opined that the NCO would not have experienced any effects from the substance and therefore, could have innocently ingested it.  The report was presented for the board members’ consideration.

In closing argument, Attorney Calcagni argued that the NCO was the epitome of an American Soldier who lived and breathed the Army values.  He also argued that she was the antithesis of a drug user.  Because of her ethnic background, her family member provided her a substance that though comprised partially of the cocoa leaf, is apparently lawful in the United States given its availability for purchase in the local community.  Lastly, he argued that her character and reputation in the National Guard buttressed and supported her innocent ingestion, which was scientifically proven by the toxicologist’s report.  As a result of these efforts, the board members voted unanimously that the NCO committed no misconduct.  The members further voted for the NCO to be retained for future service, and be immediately reinstated to duty and for all other service-related benefits.  Congratulations to this NCO, who has since become a Commissioned Officer, for this outstanding result.

Operating Under the Influence Case Results

If you are facing charges for OUI, Drug Possession, or any kind of Sexual Assault crime, contact Criminal Defense Attorney John L. Calcagni now at (401) 351-5100 for assistance and a free consultation.

OUI 2nd for Alcohol; OUI for Drugs; and Annoying a Person of the Opposite Sex: OUI First-Offender Sanctions Imposed and All Other Charges Dismissed. 

Police received a report of a motorist following a city garbage truck during the early morning hours.  The report indicated that the motorist was believed to be intoxicated and was soliciting a female garbage trucker worker to perform a sexual act on him.   Police arrived on the scene and stopped the motorist.  At the time of the stop, officers detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from the motorist, as well as observed him to have both blood shot eyes and slurred speech.   During a discussion with the motorist, he admitted to having consumed several beers earlier in the night and appeared to be disoriented.  Officers administered a battery of field sobriety tests to the motorists all of which he failed.  Officers than placed the motorist under arrest and transported to the police station.  He then participated in a breathalyzer test that measured his BAC to be .24 –three times the legal limit of .08.  During the booking process, officers discovered a bottle of narcotic mediation on the motorist’s person person.   As a result of the foregoing, police charged the motorist with Operating under the Influence (OUI) of Alcohol (2nd Offense); OUI of Narcotics; and Annoying a Person of the Opposite Sex.  Attorney Calcagni represented the motorist.  At a pretrial conference, Attorney Calcagni successfully negotiated to have the OUI for Narcotics and Annoying a Person of the Opposite Sex charges dismissed.  Attorney Calcagni further negotiated for the motorist to be treated as a first-time offender for purposes of the OUI of Alcohol charge.  The motorist was then sentenced to a Continuation without Finding for twenty-four (24) months with minimum first-time OUI offender sanctions.  Providing the motorist is not charged with a new offense during this period, his case will be dismissed in two years and he will not incur a criminal conviction from this incident.