Guilty Plea Entered in Tax Evasion Case

A Simi Valley businessman pleaded guilty to two counts of underreporting income on tax returns he filed over a two-year period, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Dong Chol Kim, 59, admitted that in 1992 and 1993 he understated gross receipts and business income for three women’s clothing stores he and his wife operated. At the time, the couple operated clothing shops under the business names of Kim’s Fashion and The Expression.

Kim reported gross receipts of more than $2.3 million when it actually was approximately $2.6 million, said prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office.

“If you don’t report $150,000 a year, that is significant and you have the possibility of going to jail if you are not more honest,” said Carol Broderick, a special agent with the Internal Revenue Service in Oxnard.

Although Broderick declined to comment on how Kim was caught, she said there could have been “other reasons” besides the amount of money not reported.

Kim pleaded guilty Monday before U.S. District Judge Richard A. Paez, who will sentence the defendant on Jan. 6. He faces a maximum sentence of six years in federal prison.

As part of the plea agreement with the government, Kim presented a $44,508 check as partial payment for back taxes.

Kim’s wife, Myung Sook Kim, 45, who was indicted along with her husband, will face trial Nov. 30.