PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT: James K. Vines
United States Attorney
Darryl Stewart
Assistant U.S. Attorney
FRANKLIN CAR BROKER SENTENCED ON TAX CHARGES
Nashville, TN - June 3, 2002 - James K. Vines, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, announced that Herbert Dennis Franklin, 51, a resident of Franklin, Tennessee, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Todd J. Campbell to serve 5 months in prison followed by 5 months of home detention. Franklin will also serve a period of one year of supervised release. Judge Campbell ordered that Franklin pay $120,000 in restitution to the IRS, and to file all future tax returns in a timely manner.
Franklin pled guilty on March 8, 2002, to one count of filing a false tax return for 1996.
According to testimony, during Franklin's plea hearing, Franklin was a self-employed auto broker who arranged the purchase and sale of luxury automobiles between auto dealers throughout the nation. IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent Dennis Holenstein testified that from 1993 through 1996, Franklin underreported his adjusted gross income by a total of $414,935. This resulted in a tax loss to the government of $135,147. Franklin admitted that he understated his income by depositing receipts into various bank accounts and then failing to provide his return preparer with all the information regarding his income. Additionally, Holenstein testified that Franklin overstated his business expenses by claiming deductions relating to personally owned and used automobiles.
Franklin is to report to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on July 5, 2002. In sentencing Franklin, Judge Campbell told him that tax crimes are one of the most serious crimes his court sees because they deprive the government and its citizens of the means in which to operate.
This investigation was conducted by IRS-Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Darryl A. Stewart prosecuted the case for the government.