While some may have seen Howard Awand's plea deal as a swing-and-a-miss for U.S. attorneys, the tax man was there all along batting cleanup. (Sorry, it's baseball season)Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson sentenced Awand to four years in prison, and his wife Linda to three years, for willful failure to pay roughly $2.5 million in back taxes.
From the LV Sun:
Howard Awand, 65, of Vevay, Ind., and Linda Awand, 61, of Stowe, Vt., owned Nevada Medical Consultants. The company was taxed as a partnership and the couple was responsible for reporting their share of Nevada Medical's income on their joint personal tax returns.
They reported taxable income of $8.1 million from 2001 through 2004 and owed $2.6 million in taxes. But they paid only $30,000 and only after they discovered they were under investigation by the IRS.
Howard Awand also testified at trial that he falsely told people that he served in Vietnam and in the CIA in order to drum up business for the medical consulting company.
Ah, the ole' fake Vietnam vet story to drum up business for the medical consulting business you're not paying taxes on. Very sneaky, Mr. Awand. We're sure your new cellmate will love to hear all of your stories.
(LV Sun)
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ReplyDelete8:19
ReplyDeleteUm, Howard's going away for tax evasion.
But he did get away with the worst "stuff" he did. So did many many others. The US Attorney didn't just swing and miss on the Medical Mafia prosecution, it got the Golden Sombrero.
guess he believed Harry Reid when he said that paying taxes was voluntary. that'll learn him.
ReplyDeleteFor a good read on a bunch of Half Ass Lawyers, read here... There are a bunch of great articles about Awand, Harris and Goldberg.
ReplyDeletehttp://HalfAssLawyers.com
8:58 AM - cute. Tax evasion is one of the most powerful blunt instruments in the prosecutor's arsenal. Those bombs we are dropping on villages in Afghanistan aren't free, ya' know.
ReplyDeleteMild irony that Awand is in prison on a day that Eglet is in trial and not in prison. Almost makes one feel sorry for Awand. Eglet was smart to pay his taxes.
ReplyDeleteTwo things I learned from Wesley Snipes:
ReplyDelete(1) Always bet on black; and
(2) Pay your damn taxes.
Four years at Club Fed.
ReplyDeleteThe boy was a playa' back inna day. Now he doin' times fo' da' crimes.
Of all the things Al Capone did (or at least was accused of doing), the one thing that effectively ended his life of crime was a conviction for income tax evasion
ReplyDeleteHoly hell there's a lot of spam comments these days. See, 8:19 and 10:48.
ReplyDeleteOh, and 10:48, if you're going to drop the url on every comment section, could you maybe make it resolve to something other than WWL? Unless that's your point. In which case, you're not clever, you're just unfunny.
On another note, here's a picture of the gal who falsely accused Copperfield of coppin'feels. Not as attractice as I expected, yet very young to have her career as a extortionist cut short. So sad.
ReplyDeleteApparently, Howard is a stand up guy. He's going to take his medicine instead of rolling on the lawyers and doctors who carried out the spine surgery scams. Howard's the better man. Those doctors and lawyers would be singing like Caruso if the situation was reversed. Who ever thought that after all was said and done Howard would end up being the good guy?
ReplyDeleteStand up guy my ass! Howard never thought it would come to this. He was so sure he wouldn't go to jail because the IRS would want him out earning to pay the restitution. Ooops!
ReplyDeleteIf he even for a second thought he'd do time, he would have squealed like a pig.
I bet that right now he is trying to do a squeal deal to get a reduced sentence. Look out co-conspirators!
If the Bobs are nervous, they're certainly not showing it.
ReplyDeleteSince Awand is now a known liar, how much can his testimony be worth against the Bobs or any of the other co-conspirators? And if Awand sings now to get a reduced sentence or commutation, his testimony will be worth even less.
Nope, this prosecution is now as dead as Julius Caesar.
He may have got away with the other bad stuff, but he's still the only one serving him. If you think he won't roll over on the others to get a reduced sentence, you're as dumb as 6:47. I'm sure his wife has some super secret information she would give up to get out.
ReplyDeleteoops.."serving time"
ReplyDelete9:52 AM - You haven't thought this through, have you? If Howard was inclined to roll, don't you think he'd have done it when he had some leverage, before he was an admitted perjurer, and before he lost at trial and had been sentenced?
ReplyDeleteHe's useless to the government now.
Useless to the government? Are you kidding? Awand undoubtedly has tons of paperwork that would substantiate everything he had to say. He would be very credible. Even if he wasn't used as a witness, he knows where the bones are buried and can lead the government straight to them.
ReplyDelete@10:33 The Feds have gotten convictions with much worse snitches than Awand. That does not mean you are wrong but I would not be so certain. While very unlikely, it is certainly still possible.
ReplyDelete10:33
ReplyDeleteYour comments could not be less valuable to the discussion. Thanks for enlightening us. Isn't the fence hurting your ass?
Awand will probably spend his four years in a minimum security camp, not a real prison. He's probably looking forward to learning underwater basket weaving.
ReplyDeleteumm . . . just got a call from 1986. it wants 11:48 a.m. reprimanded for using the phrase "underwater basket weaving" two decades too late.
ReplyDeleteLearning to knit a sweater? How about whatever class college football players take to get by.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand the "fence" comment. But I do agree that Howard's value as a govenment witness is limited. No one else is going to prison. Too bad for the people who have been salivating for years and hoping the Feds would indict Vannah and/or Eglet - sorry Jane Anne.
ReplyDeleteEglet (and his firm) and Vannah are both slimey. Seeing both of them go down would be gratifying.
ReplyDeleteCheck the public records, regarding Terry Figliuzzi-Fields- Mosley, who owes back taxes to the tune of $504,000.I suppose when she decides to surface and pay her "BAD CHECK"S", she will then decide to pay the Internal Revenue Service????? I just can't stand it, when a person, like this, continues to find fault with ALL THE JUDGES THAT SHE HAS spent decades "in front" of by filing ethical violation's on EACH JUDGE alleging judicial corruption, because the father of her illegitimate son is a judge. Wow, this woman needs to take a good long look at herself, for own unethical behavior!
ReplyDeleteThis is JUST the beginning. The authorities have SO much more. It ain't over 'till it's over. Howard and Linda are SO arrogant, they REALLY thought they'd never get busted.
ReplyDeleteThis is a guy who told people he 'has the IRS in his pocket', pretended to be part of the mob, and BOUGHT military medals from thrift shops, put them in a fancy case on his wall, and then made up stories about them all. No morals, no class, and a pathological liar. The Feds haven't EVEN scratched the surface yet, and by NO means are they going to let Vannah slide. What you guys don't know ( so much) is that Vannah IS the 'big Kahuna" of them all. That's what Howard himself calls Vannah. So stay tuned.
This is JUST the beginning. The authorities have SO much more. It ain't over 'till it's over. Howard and Linda are SO arrogant, they REALLY thought they'd never get busted.
ReplyDeleteThis is a guy who told people he 'has the IRS in his pocket', pretended to be part of the mob, and BOUGHT military medals from thrift shops, put them in a fancy case on his wall, and then made up stories about them all. No morals, no class, and a pathological liar. The Feds haven't EVEN scratched the surface yet, and by NO means are they going to let Vannah slide. What you guys don't know ( so much) is that Vannah IS the 'big Kahuna" of them all. That's what Howard himself calls Vannah. So stay tuned.