SAN JOSE ATTORNEY AND CPA
PLEADS GUILTY TO TAX EVASION

As a consequence of his omission of substantial amounts of business receipts and the capital gain from his law practice, Mr. Fiore knowingly filed a false and fraudulent federal income tax return for the tax year 1999 understating his taxable income by $522,594 and understating his income tax due the government by $214,420.  In the plea agreement, Mr. Fiore agreed that the total tax loss to the government for purposes of sentencing is $626,623.  That amount includes the tax loss for 1999, for which Mr. Fiore pled guilty, and the understatements of tax for 1996, 1997 and 1998, which were charged in the Indictment.

Owen Fiore is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of California and has been engaged in the practice of law since 1962.  He is also a licensed certified public accountant in California.  He obtained his license in 1960 and still maintains it though he does not practice as a certified public accountant.  During the years 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 until July 1, 1999, he owned and operated The Fiore Law Group in San Jose, California.  On July 1, 1999, he entered into a partnership agreement with John Ramsbacher.  Mr. Fiore's law practice during 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 specialized in the practice of estates and trusts, family business and wealth succession, entity planning including family partnerships, and included a significant practice in tax litigation.  Mr. Fiore holds the designation of Certified Specialist in Taxation from the California Board of Legal Specialization. 

In pleading guilty, Mr. Fiore admitted that he knowingly and willfully understated the business receipts from his law practice in the total amount of $473,978 on his 1999 federal income tax return which he prepared and filed.  Instead of utilizing the business records and bank records of the law firm to accurately compute his business receipts for 1999, Mr. Fiore chose to understate them by a substantial amount.

Also, when Mr. Fiore entered into the agreement with John Ramsbacher to operate the law practice as a partnership, it was agreed that Mr. Ramsbacher would pay Mr. Fiore $37,500 to buy into the law practice.  Mr. Ramsbacher paid the $37,500.  Mr. Fiore, however, did not report the $37,500 on his federal income tax return for 1999 though he knew that the $37,500 payment should have been reported as a capital gain.

Finally, at the time the partnership was formed, Mr. Ramsbacher and Mr. Fiore agreed that certain client payments received after July 1, 1999, would be paid to Mr. Fiore as receipts of his sole proprietorship.  Mr. Ramsbacher did pay over to Mr. Fiore from the partnership bank account in 1999 a total of $117,933, which represented client payments due to Mr. Fiore's sole proprietorship for services rendered up through June 30, 1999.  That money was deposited into Mr. Fiore's personal bank accounts.  Mr. Fiore did not report the $117,933 on his Schedule C tax return for 1999 though he full well knew that those payments were income to him.

The sentencing of Mr. Fiore is scheduled for January 11, 2005, before Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco.  The maximum statutory penalty for each count in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201 is five years and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution in the amount of $301,623.  However, the actual sentence be dictated by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of factors, and will be imposed in the discretion of the Court.

The prosecution is the result of a two year investigation by agents of the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation Division. David L. Denier is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case with the assistance of legal technician Kathy Tat. 

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Luke Macaulay at (415) 436-6757.