Former Springfield salesman sentenced for not filing tax returns

A former Springfield insurance sales representative was sentenced Wednesday in federal court for failing to file tax returns on more than $6 million of income.

Ronald E. Kirkland, of Atlanta and formerly of Springfield, received two years in federal prison without parole for failing to file four years of income tax returns.

Kirkland was a sales representative and independent contractor for American Family Life Assurance Co., known as AFLAC, at the time of the offenses, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri.

Kirkland operated his own insurance business and served as AFLAC's Missouri sales manager, where he was paid as an independent contractor. In 2004, he was promoted to a salaried position as sales director in the company's Columbus, Ga., headquarters.

Kirkland admitted in October that he received gross income of nearly $1.9 million and $2.1 million in 2002 and 2003, respectively, but did not file tax returns for those years. He also admitted to not filing returns in 2004 or 2005. During the four-year period in question, he received total gross income of more than $6.3 million, according to the release. In each of the four years, he filed for tax deadline extensions but never filed returns.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich and investigated by Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.