West Point CPA Gary Hamilton was convicted Wednesday of helping Tupelo developer Jack Holleman evade federal income taxes from 1996 to 2005.
A Greenville jury returned a guilty verdict against the 62-year-old Hamilton on two charges — of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and attempting to evade or defeat tax — after deliberating two hours and 15 minutes.
Hamilton, who was working for Watkins, Ward and Stafford at the time of the crime, opened a business partnership, PMBMH Investments LLC, in November 1998 to help Holleman buy and sell real estate, according to court records.
Hamilton then opened a bank account in December 2000 at People”s Bank and Trust, through which Hamilton funneled untaxed payments to Holleman. Hamilton did this, according to court records, even though he knew Holleman couldn”t open a bank account for fear of IRS tax liens.
Even before that, Hamilton was helping Holleman avoid paying income tax, the court found. In the nine-year period they conspired together, Holleman avoided paying $175,432.32 in income taxes.
Holleman, who filed for bankruptcy April 14, 2005, then used the PMBMH Investments checking account to hide assets, the court found.
Holleman, who already pleaded guilty to the charges last week, nor Hamilton have been sentenced. Holleman faces up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine while Hamilton faces up to 10 years in prison and a $350,000 fine.
Although Hamilton has lost his certification as a public accountant, his former employers said they may rehire him for some clerical work.
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