Costa Rica News – A Grand Junction man was sentenced to 88 months in prison for tax evasion and failing to file personal and corporate income tax returns Friday.
The Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division announced 52-year old Timothy Stubbs was convicted of tax evasion in 2015, and fled the country prior to set trial date.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Stubbs was the owner of National Rebate Fund Inc in Grand Junction.
The Department of Justice says Stubbs earned more than $7 million between 2005 and 2007 and did not file corporate income tax returns.
According to trial evidence Stubbs had not filed a personal tax return since 1992 and had not paid individual income taxes since 1993.
The Department of Justice says Stubbs concealed his income by paying more than $700,000 in personal expenses from his business bank accounts, and acquired more than $370,000 in gold and silver in 2007.
The evidence presented at trial also showed that during a three year span Stubbs purchased real estate in Grand Junction, Crested Butte and Kailua-Kona, Hawaii totaling more than $2.9 million dollars.
In December 2015, two weeks prior to his scheduled sentencing hearing, Stubbs removed his electronic GPS monitoring ankle bracelet and fled to Costa Rica.
According to court documents, Stubbs lied to immigration officials in Costa Rica in an attempt to renew his residence in Costa Rica where he had previously lived, in an effort avoid punishment of this case.
In April 2017, Costa Rica deported Stubbs and has been held in custody pending sentencing.
The U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello ordered in addition to 88 months in prison, Stubbs serve three years of supervised released and pay over $639,000 in restitution to the IRS and a fine of $50,000.
Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the division’s website.
