The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced that Jane Yip was sentenced today to two years in prison for tax evasion.  The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong following a guilty plea to one count of a violation of 26 United States Code Section 7206(1).

Ms. Yip, 43, of Fremont, California, was indicted April 11, 2002 by a federal grand jury on two counts of filing false federal income tax returns for 1995 and 1996, in violation of Title 26 US Code, Section 7206(1). Thereafter the grand jury returned a superseding indictment alleging two additional counts of failure to file federal tax returns, as well as one count of aiding and abetting the willful failure to file a tax return, and one count of making a false statement to a government official.   Under the plea agreement, Ms. Yip pled guilty to count three of the Superseding Indictment which charged her with filing a false personal income tax return for the year 1997.

In pleading guilty, Ms. Yip admitted that between 1995 and 1997 she operated a number of businesses including Micro Access Computer, SII Marketing , Inc., ("SII") and"Supercell International Inc." ("Supercell").  These business sold computer software and hardware. She further admitted that for the tax years 1995, 1996, and 1997 she underreported significant income from these businesses on the federal tax returns she filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

With specific reference to count three of the Superseding Indictment, she admitted that in October, 1998, she willfully made and subscribed to a 1997 Form 1040X Federal Individual Income Tax Return, which was verified by a written declaration that it was made under the penalties of perjury, and was filed with the Director, Internal Revenue Service Center, at Fresno, California.  That Form 1040X was false in that 1) it reported total income of $121,150 and 2) it reported the total tax to be $19,908, whereas at the time she filed the return she knew that her income exceeded $900,000 and that the total tax was well in excess of $19,908.  Ms. Yip agreed that in fact her unreported income was $915,912.75 on which a tax of $349,250.93 was due and owing.

Judge Armstrong sentenced the defendant to two years in federal prison, restitution of $763,702.20, plus costs of prosecution of $5060.20,  as well as a one year term of supervised release. The defendant will begin serving the sentence on November 14, 2003.

The parties agreed that, under the Sentencing Guidelines, the defendants could receive a sentence of between 18 and 24 months. The Court adopted the United States' recommendation that the defendant receive a sentence of 24 months under the Sentencing Guidelines.  The prosecution is the result of an extensive investigation by agents of the Internal Revenue Service.  Mark N. Zanides is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case with the assistance of Tom Moulder.

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Jacobs at (415) 436-7181.