Guy A. Lewis, United States Attorney
for the Southern District of Florida, and Jose I. Marrero, Special Agent in Charge,
Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, announced today that a federal
jury sitting in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, found Jeffrey Gottfried guilty of corruptly
endeavoring to impede the Internal Revenue Service's collection of approximately
$272,000 in payroll taxes (federal income taxes and FICA taxes, known as Social
Security and Medicare taxes) and falsely claiming approximately $75,000 in income
tax refunds. Gottfried had been indicted in March 2002 for corruptly endeavoring
to impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue Laws by causing his four
corporations to fail to pay the IRS approximately $272,000 in payroll taxes, in
violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7212(a). He was also indicted
for filing false joint individual income tax returns, Forms 1040, for the years
1994, 1995 and 1996, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(1).
According to the indictment and the evidence at trial, the income tax returns
were false because Gottfried claimed refunds for taxes which he had never paid
to the IRS. He faces a maximum term of 12 years' imprisonment and a maximum fine
of $400,000. Sentencing is scheduled for September 19, 2002, before United States
District Court Judge William P. Dimitrouleas.
According to evidence introduced
at trial, Gottfried was the President of the following corporations: 1)National
Furniture Warehouse, Inc.; 2) Furniture To Go, Inc.; 3) Furniture To Go of North
America, Inc.; and 4) Furniture To Go of Missouri. He operated furniture stores
in California, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Tennessee from his office in Del Ray
Beach, Florida. At trial, the evidence established that from 1994 to 1997, Gottfried
paid himself wages totaling $760,000, failed to file and report those wages
to the IRS on Forms 941 (Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Returns) and on Forms
940 (Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Returns, and failed to
pay the Internal Revenue Service $272,000 in payroll taxes. The evidence also
established that Mr. Gottfried attempted to place approximately $309,000 beyond
the reach of the IRS by wire transferring monies to a bank account in Zurich,
Switzerland, which was held in the name of a foreign trust he had established
in Belize City, Belize. The evidence also established that Gottfried failed
to pay the payroll taxes on his employee's wages of $115,000 at Furniture To
Go of North America, Inc. After deliberating for two days, the jury found Gottfried
guilty on all four counts of the Indictment.
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