Jeffrey Riddle, a 59-year-old man from Falmouth, was sentenced to three years of probation along with $590,912 in restitution to the IRS by Chief U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker in a case of tax evasion.
According to court records, he did not pay the required taxes for his federal income that he made between 2006 and 2014. Riddle had pleaded guilty on December 16, 2024. A
The United Attorney’s Office (District of Maine) released a press release statement announcing Riddle’s punishment. “The IRS began trying to collect Riddle’s back taxes in 2010, filing notices of federal tax liens on property and levies on his bank account,” the statement began.
“In 2015, while still owing substantial back taxes, Riddle created a new business, Silica Marketing LLC, and entered into a lucrative consulting agreement with a large tire retailer. Riddle put the ownership of the company under his then-wife’s name despite the company’s sole revenue coming from his consulting work and using the proceeds to pay personal expenses,” it added.
The press release further mentioned, “When meeting with the IRS revenue officer assigned to collect his back taxes, Riddle stated that he earned $6,000 a month in wages from Silica and provided the IRS with a falsified letter showing he would be paid a $3,000 bi-monthly salary.”
“He failed to disclose that he had signed a consulting agreement as Silica’s president and CEO and that Silica was receiving substantial income from that contract,” the complaint read.
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Moreover, Riddle did not disclose the fact that the money paid to Silica was actually being used for his personal expenses. As per the press release, “Among the expenses paid for with Silica funds was the down payment on a home on Great Diamond Island in 2016, purchased in Silica’s name.”
Riddle’s punishment came as the result of the investigation conducted by the IRS Criminal Investigation. The case highlights the broader issue of attempts made to cheat the IRS.
It is important to keep in mind that such offense can lead to five years of prison time along with hefty amounts of fine, depending upon the amount of money that the person has evaded in taxes.
While it is important to pay the taxes on time, there has been some unrest regarding the activities of the IRS under the Trump administration where his own MAGA base has, at times, turned on the agency.
For instance, Savanah Hernandez, a Turning Point USA contributor, made headlines for saying that she would stop paying taxes as she accused the government of misusing the taxpayers’ money.
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Savanah also mentioned her plan when the IRS would come after her, saying, “And then when the IRS comes after me, I’ll blow that up into a huge national story about how the government will destroy your life over a couple of thousand dollars.”
She continued, “Meanwhile, the Pentagon just failed its eighth audit in a row, Somalis literally come to the U.S. just to defraud us out of billions and [undocumented immigrants] are prioritized for Section 8 housing and welfare programs over Americans. I’m not paying for it anymore.”
While she made her own argument loud and clear, a common man’s clash with the IRS is very unlikely to turn into a good or winning experience, especially if that person has already defrauded the government agency.
