Sylmar Man Ordered to Start Jail Term for Not Paying Taxes

A Sylmar man convicted in 1991 on three counts of failing to file state income tax returns was ordered to begin serving a 630-day jail sentence after the state appellate court rejected his challenge to the lower court decision, authorities said Tuesday.

Ralph Allen, 51, described by prosecutors as a tax protester, was ordered to report April 7 to Van Nuys Municipal Court, where he will be taken into custody to begin a County Jail sentence, said Mike Qualls, spokesman in the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

The state Court of Appeal issued the order to Allen last week, Qualls said.

Before the appeals court challenge, Allen took the conviction to the Los Angeles Superior Court Appellate Department the same day he was sentenced in August, 1991, the release said.

Allen was convicted after a three-day trial a month earlier. Charges were filed against him after an investigation by the state Franchise Tax Board office in Van Nuys, authorities said.

Allen failed to pay more than $7,200 in state income taxes and refused to file income tax returns between 1985 and 1987, authorities said.

Don Cocek, a deputy city attorney who prosecuted the case, said Allen, an architectural drafter, failed to file state income tax statements for about 10 years.