Man sentenced for tax fraud

A 63-year-old Kalispell man was sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine during a federal court session Wednesday in Missoula after earlier pleading guilty to tax fraud.

Al Benavides was charged after an Internal Revenue Service investigation that centered around his business, Benavides and Company.

“Benavides prepared tax returns that were demonstrably false that saved clients thousands in tax by routinely inflating the basis of property, fabricating false assets on the depreciation schedules and improperly claiming substantial personal expenses to be deducted as business expenses,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kris McLean wrote in an offer of proof.

In one scheme, Benavides asked a client to pay him fees for accounting and consulting work, but he then used the money to purchase personal items for the client.

“Thus, the client received both the business deduction and possession of a personal item while Benavides turned a profit,” McLean wrote.

Benavides was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy. The punishment includes a year and a day in prison, $25,100 in fines and one year of supervised released.