By BOB OLIVER
Times-Herald Newspapers
HEIGHTS — A 54-year-old Dearborn Heights woman has pleaded guilty to willfully filing false tax returns to the IRS by not declaring money she embezzled as income.
Janey Golani accepted a plea agreement with the prosecution Aug. 15 before U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan Judge Stephen J. Murphy III in Detroit.
According to the agreement, Golani pled guilty to filing a false return for tax year 2008 will face the maximum penalties of three years of imprisonment, a one-year period of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and a $100 special assessment charge.
Golani will also have to pay restitution to the IRS for income she did not claim over a four-year period.
She is scheduled to be sentenced by Murphy at 10 a.m. Jan. 9.
According to court documents, Golani embezzled money from her employer from 2006 through 2009.
In 2008, Golani filed a return with the total income understated by approximately $234,641, which reduced her tax liability by more than $77,000.
The total amount of money Golani withheld over the four years of returns topped $225,000.
In a press release following the guilty plea, IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Jarod Koopman said income that is derived from illegal sources is still subject to income tax.
“Ms. Golani stole from her employer and filed false tax returns, both serious crimes for which she is being held accountable,” Koopman said.
The IRS Criminal Investigation department led the investigation into Golani.
(Bob Oliver can be reached at [email protected].)