Springfield man sentenced to jail for tax evasion

A Springfield man has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for tax evasion.

Richard Eugene Moore, 36, pleaded guilty last March to structuring currency transactions to avoid federal reporting requirements. He is slated to report to prison Feb. 13, according to a news release from Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.

In his plea agreement, Moore admitted he sold stolen grease to Fleming Recycling, which then resold it to refiners. Moore was paid by Fleming with company checks that he cashed at Bank of America locations in Springfield.

Moore presented the checks in amounts under $10,000 to avoid reporting the monies to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS as required by law.

“Federal laws that regulate the reporting of financial transactions are in place to detect and stop illegal activities. IRS-Criminal Investigation is committed to enforcing these laws and following the money, wherever it leads,” said Sybil Smith, special agent in charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation, in the release.

In addition to the prison time, Moore was ordered to forfeit $14,298 to the government.