Idaho Man Indicted for Tax Evasion After Allegedly Using Gold Bars, Nominee Accounts to Hide $888,000 in Tax Debt

Joshua Laine Bennett accused of providing false information to IRS, keeping bank balances low, and purchasing nearly $700,000 in gold to thwart collection efforts

BOISE, Idaho — A Caldwell, Idaho, man has been indicted on federal tax evasion charges for allegedly employing a series of financial maneuvers — including buying nearly $700,000 in gold bars and using a nominee bank account — to avoid paying more than $888,000 in personal income taxes and penalties, the Justice Department announced today.

Joshua Laine Bennett was charged with two counts of tax evasion in an indictment that was unsealed yesterday in the District of Idaho. Prosecutors allege that from approximately December 2022 through at least February 2026, Bennett evaded payment of personal income taxes for several years as well as the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty assessed by the IRS for multiple calendar quarters related to taxes he failed to pay for a company he owned.

According to the indictment, Bennett used a variety of tactics to evade collection efforts, including providing false information on IRS collections forms, using cashier’s checks to keep his bank balance artificially low, purchasing nearly $700,000 in gold bars, and using a nominee bank account to receive payments for industrial equipment and real property. He then made withdrawals from that nominee account for personal expenses, all in an effort to thwart IRS collections, authorities said.

In total, Bennett allegedly caused a tax loss to the United States of approximately $888,313, including penalties and interest.

Bennett faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each of the two counts if convicted. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Florida Businessman Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion on Millions Earned from Selling Internet to American Troops

Joseph Stewart admitted to underreporting $4.62 million in income from businesses serving soldiers in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay

MIAMI — A Florida businessman pleaded guilty yesterday to evading taxes on more than $4.5 million in income he earned from business ventures that sold internet access to American servicemembers and contractors stationed at overseas military installations, federal prosecutors announced.

Joseph Stewart, of Miami, entered the guilty plea to one count of tax evasion, admitting that between 2013 and 2018 he failed to report approximately $4.62 million in income and caused a total tax loss to the United States of roughly $1.57 million.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Stewart earned more than $4.5 million in dividends from his 50% ownership in a business that sold internet access to American servicemembers and contractors stationed on Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. During the same period, Stewart also earned income from his 50% ownership of a separate business that provided internet service to soldiers stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Despite receiving significant dividends beginning in 2013, Stewart stopped filing timely tax returns with the IRS.

In April 2016, while having not filed tax returns or paid taxes for three years, Stewart filed a false affidavit with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services attaching unfiled copies of federal tax returns and falsely attesting that they had been filed, according to prosecutors.

After receiving letters from the IRS in 2019, Stewart hired a tax attorney and return preparers and falsely informed them that more than $3.8 million in dividends he received between 2013 and 2018 were nontaxable loans. Stewart also falsely claimed he did not know the other shareholders of the business. Based on these false statements, the tax professionals drafted returns for 2013 through 2020 that underreported his income and taxes due. Stewart filed these false returns with the IRS, except for the 2013 return, which reported he owed approximately $155,720.

Stewart faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, along with supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date, and a federal district court judge will determine the final sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Nevada Businesswoman Sentenced to 18 Months for $7 Million COVID-19 Tax Credit Fraud Scheme

Adonia Stiles referred taxpayers to co-conspirator who filed 150 false returns claiming fraudulent ERC and sick leave credits

LAS VEGAS — A Nevada real estate agent, tax preparer, and clothing store owner was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison for her role in a scheme that fraudulently sought millions in COVID-19 pandemic tax credits, causing a loss to the United States exceeding $7 million.

Adonia Stiles, of Las Vegas, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey to serve two years of supervised release and pay $7,079,121.48 in restitution. The government had recommended a sentence of 40 months’ imprisonment.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Stiles conspired with others to file false tax returns fraudulently seeking refunds based on the employee retention credit and sick and family leave credit — programs Congress created to aid struggling businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stiles caused one of her co-conspirators, Candies Goode-McCoy, to file 11 false employment tax returns for Stiles’s clothing store, seeking a total of more than $800,000 in refundable tax credits. Stiles also referred 18 other people to Goode-McCoy, for whom Goode-McCoy filed over 150 false employment tax returns. Goode-McCoy claimed $15 million in fraudulent tax credits on behalf of these taxpayers, which resulted in the United States paying out more than $7 million in refunds.

In exchange for making these referrals, Stiles received at least $135,000. She did not report this income on her individual income tax returns. In April 2026, Goode-McCoy was sentenced to 54 months in prison for her role in the scheme.

“The Fraud Division will not tolerate anyone who steals from public benefits programs designed to support Americans in need,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “If you attempt to defraud these programs, we will come after you with the full force of federal law. We are committed to safeguarding America’s tax dollars and the programs they are meant to support.”

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada emphasized the district’s commitment to taxpayer protection. “Today’s sentence, once again, highlights our District’s commitment to the American taxpayer that when people commit fraud, they will face the legal consequences of those criminal acts.”