Jury Convicts Roman Catholic Priest of Tax Evasion, Money Laundering, And Wire Fraud – Court Orders Restitution

A jury recently convicted Marcin Stanislaw Garbacz, a Roman Catholic priest, of 50 counts of wire fraud, nine counts of money laundering, one count of interstate transportation of stolen money and five counts of making and subscribing a false tax return.  For the tax return years 2013 through 2017, the defendant had unreported income totaling $235,818 and income tax due totaling $46,008.  As a result, the district court ordered tax-based restitution to the IRS of $46,008 under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act.  United States v. Garbacz.

The recent case of United States v. Garbacz reinforces the fact that the federal government often prosecutes tax violations, even violations involving relatively small amount of unpaid tax such as that involved in the case—some $46,008 over the course of five years.  The case also illustrates the restitution provisions at when federal convictions involve amounts owed to the IRS.

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