Convicted of tax evasion charges in Oct. 2008, Shirley St. Peirre, 55, Jefferson, was sentenced in Federal District Court Monday to 27 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release.
During sentencing Feb. 9 Judge D. Brock Hornby also ordered St. Pierre to pay a fine of $75,000 and approximately $5100 of costs incurred by the government in conducting her trial. St. Pierre must report to prison in April.
In 2008, St. Pierre, was convicted of tax evasion and attempting to obstruct an Internal Revenue Service audit of her and her company, the Staab Agency.
During trial the government presented evidence that St. Pierre, the sole owner of the Staab Agency, a Jefferson business that acted as an agent for out of state businesses and individuals registering vehicles and truck trailers in the State of Maine, failed to report approximately $1.2 million dollars of business income during a three-year period from 2000-2002.
This resulted in St. Pierre’s underpayment of about $511,000 of federal income taxes. The government also presented evidence that during the IRS tax audit, which led to the criminal investigation and trial, false documentation was presented to the IRS in an effort to conceal the understatement of income.
A jury convicted St. Pierre of tax evasion for the 2002 tax year, and an additional charge of obstructing the IRS. She was acquitted of two other tax evasion charges relating to the 2000 and 2001 tax years. St. Pierre has since repaid all back taxes and interest.
Following the sentencing, United States Attorney Paula D. Silsby praised the efforts of the Internal Revenue Service’s criminal investigation division, which conducted a multi-year investigation culminating in St. Pierre’s conviction.
“It is essential to enforce the federal tax laws to ensure that every citizen pays his or her fair share of taxes,” Silsby said.
“The prosecution of individuals who intentionally conceal income and evade taxes is a vital element in maintaining public confidence in our tax system,” said JoAnn S. Zúñiga, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “We should not expect the honest taxpayer to foot the bill for those who hide income from the IRS.”
