SHREVEPORT, LA. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Louisiana, Western), published as received.
SHREVEPORT, La. – Robert C. Poimboeuf, a Shreveport business owner, pleaded guilty today in federal court, to filing false tax returns, announced David C. Joseph, the United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to documents and information provided to the court, Robert C. Poimboeuf, 57, along with his wife, owned and operated D&G Holdings, LLC, (D&G) a local medical business operating as Doctors Lab, that provided laboratory and phlebotomy services. From 2011 through 2015, Poimboeuf filed false tax returns that underreported gross receipts earned from D&G. In particular, Poimboeuf provided false and misleading information to his tax return preparers – hiding income, failing to disclose bank accounts and falsely characterizing business receipts as non-taxable loans.
D&G maintained an operating account and two accounts that received revenue – one for electronic payments and the other for physical deposits of checks. For 2011 through 2014, Poimboeuf concealed the nature of deposits into D&G’s operating bank account by falsely reporting to his accountant that the deposits were transfers from a billing service. Although D&G used a billing service, these deposits were not transfers from the billing service, but from D&G’s revenue accounts that Poimboeuf did not disclose to his accountant.
The Poimboeufs hired a different accountant to prepare their 2015 tax return and provided information for the electronic deposit account in addition to the operating account, but continued to withhold information about the physical deposits account. When the accountant asked for additional information concerning a loan, Poimboeuf provided a document to support the deposit for the loan, when in fact it was actually a transfer from the undisclosed physical deposits account. In addition, Poimboeuf did not provide numerous Forms 1099 reflecting earnings for D&G.
Poimboeuf underreported earnings for D&G in order to understate taxes due for 2011 through 2015. As a result of Poimboeuf’s conduct, the filing of false federal income tax returns for the years 2011 through 2015 caused a tax loss of more than $1.9 million to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“Mr. Poimboeuf cheated on his taxes in order to lower his tax bill. In doing so, he committed a crime and failed in a duty we all owe as American citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph. “He now awaits sentencing for this crime.”
Sentencing is set for April 21, 2020, at 2:00 p.m., before Chief U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. in Shreveport, Louisiana. Mr. Poimboeuf faces a statutory maximum sentence of six years in prison, as well as a period of supervised release and monetary penalties. Mr. Poimboeuf has agreed to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $1,904,477.
Special agents with the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook and Trial Attorney Kevin Schneider of the Tax Division, are prosecuting the case.
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