Businessman Given 18 Months in Tax-Evasion, Conspiracy Case
A businessman who in June pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and income tax evasion on Monday was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $600,000 in fines and up to $2 million in back taxes, interest and penalties.
Curtis Jerome Corn, who was indicted on 23 counts of fraud and tax evasion last year, will be able to apply for a sentence modification after six months, U.S. District Judge Earl B. Gilliam said at sentencing.
Prosecutors charged that Corn concealed profits from the sale of fuel oil products obtained from Navy ships that his firms had contracted to clean. Corn is the former owner of Allied Tank Cleaning and Trans Ambient Corp., and a half-owner of Commercial Cleaning Corp.
When he pleaded guilty in June, Corn admitted that he created false records and billings for his firms that showed work done on Navy ships. The inflated billings increased his expenses, which in turn reduced his federal income tax.
The fraud occurred between 1979 and 1983, according to Judith Hayes, special assistant U.S. attorney.
Corn’s last six months in custody will be spent in a halfway treatment house, Gilliam ordered Monday.
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