North Carolina Man Indicted for Tax Evasion | OPA

A federal indictment was unsealed today charging a North Carolina man with tax evasion and failing to file tax returns.

According to the indictment, Darren Lee Joy, 63, of Charlotte, earned more than $750,000 in wages between 2015 and 2020, but he did not file any federal income tax returns for those years. Joy, who was employed as an information technology specialist by companies in the Charlotte area, allegedly submitted to his employers IRS Forms W-4 falsely stating he was exempt from federal income tax withholding. By claiming exempt status, Joy allegedly caused his employers to withhold little or no federal income taxes from his wages.

Joy is charged with six counts of tax evasion and six counts of willfully failing to file a tax return. If convicted, Joy faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of tax evasion and one year in prison for each count of failing to file a tax return. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Dena J. King of the Western District of North Carolina made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Brian Flanagan of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.

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