Owner Of OC Environmental Company Gets Prison For Dodging Taxes
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The owner of an Anaheim-based environmental company was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison for dodging his taxes.
Emmanuel Chukwueke, 58, of Yorba Linda, pleaded guilty June 21 to one count of filing a false income tax return in 2005.
Chukwueke admitted underreporting business receipts of at least $454,200 in 2004, $770,100 in 2005 and $488,500 in 2006, allowing him to avoid paying at least $390,000 in taxes.
Chukwueke was ordered to pay $394,000 in restitution to the IRS and a $5,000 fine and was sentenced to a year of supervised release, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Sagel said.
Chukwueke's attorneys, Ellyn S. Garofalo and Andrew Garofalo, argued for probation.
Chukwueke is an environmental engineer who was born and raised in Nigeria and became a U.S. citizen in 1997. His company, Anaheim-based AMNAT Environmental and Geotechnical, provides environmental engineering for sites with contaminated groundwater and soil.
In a letter to the judge, Chukwueke apologized for the tax evasion.
"I write this letter with a heart filled with immense sadness, shame, and regret for what I have done," Chukwueke wrote. "I am deeply sorry. I made terrible errors in judgment in dealing with the financial management aspects of my small business. I do, indeed, accept full responsibility...; this will never happen again."
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