Greene County man pleads guilty to hiding $585K from IRS

A Greene County man pleaded guilty this week to his role in a conspiracy to hide $585,000 in federal taxes owed to the IRS.

Alton Vaughn Sr., 58, admitted he participated in the conspiracy between February 2090 and Sept. 30, 2014, to defraud the U.S. government, according to a news release from the office of Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Vaughn, who is self-employed and earned a portion of his income helping others prepare federal income tax returns and advising them in dealings with the IRS, admitted he aided a co-conspirator - Wesley Delport, former owner of Springfield holistic health clinic Abundant Health & Wellness - in an attempt to avoid paying taxes on $4.7 million in business receipts.

In his guilty plea, Vaughn admitted he tried to halt a federal criminal investigation by falsely reporting to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration that IRS officials coerced, intimidated and threatened Delport. Vaughn also said he attempted to impede a federal grand jury investigation by refusing to comply with subpoenas for tax and business records and sending false correspondence to the U.S. attorney’s office claiming the IRS personally seized and collected documents. Vaughan falsely testified before the jury that an iRS officer seized the records, according to the release.

Vaughn also:

• admitted he counseled another person to refuse to testify before the grand jury;
• assisted a couple in efforts to hide taxes from the IRS; and
• acknowledged, without admitting to the allegations, the government could provide he engaged in a scheme to defraud another taxpayer, who was his client.

Under federal statutes, Vaughn is subject to up to five years in federal prison without parole and a fine of up to $250,000. Under his plea agreement, he must pay the government $585,710 in restitution, according to the release.