Florida Medical Equipment Manufacturer Admits Guilt in Tax Evasion Case

A Florida man has pleaded guilty to tax evasion, admitting he dodged paying his fair share of income to Uncle Sam for more than two decades.

According to court documents and official statements, Roger Whitman, 76, manufactured and sold medical equipment. Between 2002 and 2018, Whitman generated millions of dollars in gross receipts from the sale of such equipment. 
 
Whitman has not filed an individual income tax return or made any tax payments since 2000, the U.S. Justice Department claims. In 2012, the IRS assessed nearly $800,0000 in taxes against Whitman for tax years 2002 through 2009. In response, to conceal his income and assets, Whitman formed a trust with his girlfriend serving as the trustee. Whitman convinced his girlfriend to open two bank accounts in the trust’s name, over which Whitman’s girlfriend had sole signatory authority. Thereafter, Whitman directed his income from the business into the trust’s bank accounts and used the funds from these accounts to pay personal expenses. In July 2019, to further thwart IRS collection efforts, Whitman formed a new entity to operate his business.
 
Whitman owed the IRS more than $2.4 million. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, as well as supervised release and monetary penalties. 
 
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
 
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
 
Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind and Andres Chinchilla of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case, with assistance and support from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.