{"id":54711,"date":"2023-11-14T16:30:53","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T00:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=54711"},"modified":"2023-11-14T16:30:53","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T00:30:53","slug":"calif-property-developer-sentenced-41-months-in-prison-for-lying-on-bankruptcy-petition-filing-false-tax-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=54711","title":{"rendered":"Calif. Property Developer Sentenced 41 Months in Prison for Lying on Bankruptcy Petition, Filing False Tax Returns"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0LOS ANGELES\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Officials stated that an Agoura Hills real estate developer was sentenced to three years and five months in federal prison for failing to disclose on a bankruptcy petition that he had earned nearly $2.3 million in income and for failing to report almost $6.9 million on his tax returns.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II sentenced Mark Handel, 69.\u00a0 The judge also fined Handel $20,000 and ordered him to forfeit approximately $3.5 million, which represents the proceeds of the sale of real estate in Alameda County, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

Judge Wright also ordered Handel to pay the IRS approximately $1.6 million in outstanding tax liabilities, including penalties and interest.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Handel pleaded guilty on February 23 to one count of making a false statement in bankruptcy and one count of subscribing to a false tax return.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"In April 2015, Handel filed a bankruptcy petition in Los Angeles, claiming that, under penalty of perjury, he had no income from 2013 until April 2015. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to court documents, he earned approximately $2.2 million through DTMM Construction Inc., his West Los Angeles-based real estate development company, which stood for \u201cDon\u2019t Touch My Money.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

To further conceal his income from the bankruptcy court and creditors, Handel arranged for DTMM to be registered in his wife\u2019s name but used the company to deposit the profits from his work as a real estate developer and to pay for his and his family\u2019s living expenses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Handel concealed his income from creditors by depositing it into DTMM\u2019s accounts. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Among the assets, Handel hid from creditors included his interest in real estate in Livermore, California, which was later sold for about $3.5 million of the proceeds he agreed to forfeit.<\/span><\/p>\n

In October 2016, Handel signed and filed a false federal income tax return for the tax year 2015 that failed to disclose approximately $1 million in additional income. For the tax years 2010 to 2017, Handel failed to report about $6.8 million of income on his federal tax returns.<\/span><\/p>\n

Handel also falsely reported a net operating loss of $7.2 million on his 2017 federal income tax return, underreported his income on his 2018 tax return by $1.4 million, and admitted to failing to pay $460,408 in additional tax.<\/span><\/p>\n

“[Handel’s] crimes were not born out of desperation nor done on a whim without much thought,\u201d prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. \u201cHis crimes required planning, calculation, and an almost insatiable drive to break the law repeatedly. <\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, given the brazenness of his conduct, including bragging to others that his company stood for \u2018Don\u2019t Touch My Money,\u2019 [Handel] believed he was above the law.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI investigated this matter with assistance from the Office of the United States Trustee.<\/span><\/p>\n

Assistant United States Attorney Thomas F. Rybarczyk of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section prosecuted this case.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Property Developer Sentenced 41 Months in Prison for Lying on Bankruptcy Petition, Filing False Tax Returns\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0LOS ANGELES\u00a0 Officials stated that an Agoura Hills real estate developer was sentenced to three years and five months in federal prison for\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=54711\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Justice Notebook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-15T00:30:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cropped-judge-gavel-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"684\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"684\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Raul\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Raul\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=54711#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=54711\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Raul\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0\"},\"headline\":\"Calif. 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