Cortland man to face charge over 2004 taxes

The government said the man failed to pay at least $34,075 in income taxes.

STAFF REPORT

CORTLAND — A Cortland man has been charged in federal court with trying to evade the 2004 income taxes of $34,075 for a company called PC Surveillance of Cortland.

Stephan Karchut was the sole operator of the business beginning in 2002, when he followed erroneous advice of a person from Florida who told him he was a tax professional and advised him to conceal his income and tax liabilities, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District said.

Karchut failed to file income-tax returns for 2002 through 2004 based on the advice, the government said. Karchut also structured the ownership of PC Surveillance as a supposed limited liability company to conceal Karchut’s interest in the business, using various other entities and a purported individual retirement account as nominal owners of the business, the government said.

In 2004, Karchut attempted to evade income taxes of at least $34,075 on income of at least $161,849 by failing to file a personal income-tax return and by filing a false business-tax return for PC Surveillance LLC showing himself as having only a 1 percent ownership interest.

Karchut will be arraigned on the felony charge at 9 a.m. Thursday in U.S. District Courty, Cleveland, before Judge James S. Gwin.

A call to the phone of a Stephan Karchut on Parkman Road Northwest in Warren was not answered Friday evening.