Tax Evasion Defense Lawyer
A tax case is one of the few criminal matters that begins as a civil one. Most people under investigation for tax evasion first met the agency as an auditor, answered questions, produced records, and only later learned that the file had moved to a criminal division. What was said and produced during that civil stage does not disappear when the case changes character. At Walsh-Little Law, David Walsh-Little defends clients facing tax charges brought by the State of Maryland and by the federal government in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.
David Walsh-Little spent over a decade with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, including three years as chief of the felony trial division in the Baltimore City office, and more than four years as an assistant federal public defender. Tax matters sit squarely on the line between the state and federal systems, and the two operate differently enough that experience on both sides is directly relevant.
How Maryland and the Federal Government Charge Tax Offenses
The two systems are structured differently, and the differences are important.
Maryland places its tax crimes in the Tax-General Article. Under § 13-1001, willfully failing to file a required return is a misdemeanor. For income tax and sales and use tax the maximum is a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment of up to 5 years, or both. For the financial institution franchise tax, the public service company franchise tax and the digital advertising gross revenues tax the maximum fine is $5,000 with the same 5 year ceiling. For the admissions and amusement tax and the boxing and wrestling tax it is $500 and 6 months.
Under § 13-1002, willfully filing a false income tax return or financial institution franchise tax return with the intent to evade tax is treated differently again: the statute provides that the person is guilty of perjury and is subject to the penalty for perjury. Maryland also reaches return preparers separately under § 13-1004.
Federally, 26 U.S.C. § 7201 makes it a felony to willfully attempt in any manner to evade or defeat any tax or its payment, carrying up to 5 years and a fine of up to $100,000 for an individual or $500,000 for a corporation. A separate felony at 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1) covers willfully making and subscribing a return or other document verified under penalties of perjury that the person does not believe to be true and correct as to every material matter. That carries up to 3 years and the same fine ceilings.
Section 7206(1) is worth understanding on its own, because it does not require the government to prove a tax was actually owed or evaded. It requires a false statement on a document signed under penalties of perjury, on a material matter. That is a much easier case to prove.
What's at Stake If You Are Convicted
The Criminal Case Does Not End the Tax Liability
A criminal sentence does not resolve what is owed. The tax, interest and civil penalties survive the criminal case and are collected separately. A civil fraud penalty can be assessed on top, and it is calculated as a percentage of the underestimated amount rather than as a fixed sum.
The Element of Willfulness Is Critical
Every one of these offenses turns on the word willfully. In the tax context that has a specific and demanding meaning: a voluntary, intentional violation of a known legal duty. It is not carelessness, it is not a disagreement about how a deduction should have been treated, and it is not reliance on bad advice. That standard is the single most contested element in almost every tax prosecution, and it is the reason many audits that look serious never become criminal cases.
Professional and Collateral Consequences
Tax offenses are treated as crimes involving dishonesty. Licensing boards weigh them heavily, and for accountants, lawyers, financial advisers and anyone holding a clearance the professional consequence can outlast the sentence. Reporting obligations often attach on charge rather than on conviction. Immigration consequences for non citizens can be severe.
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The Civil Audit Is Usually Where the Criminal Case Was Built
This is the feature of tax cases that most distinguishes them, and the one clients most often learn about too late.
A criminal tax case typically begins life as an ordinary examination. A revenue agent requests records, asks questions, and receives explanations. If that agent forms the view that something is not merely wrong but deliberate, the file can be referred for criminal investigation. The referral is not announced. From the taxpayer's perspective the audit may simply go quiet.
Everything provided during the civil stage remains available afterwards. Explanations offered to an auditor, amended returns filed to correct a problem, and statements made in a meeting all become part of the record the government later relies on. Amended returns in particular are frequently filed in the belief that correcting the error resolves the exposure. Filing one can be sensible, and it can also be treated as an acknowledgement, depending entirely on the circumstances and on the timing.
Because of this, the point at which an audit starts to feel unusual is a meaningful moment. A sudden shift in the questions being asked, a request to interview rather than to produce, or an agent from a different division appearing are all worth taking seriously, and consulting a lawyer at that stage rather than after a charging decision is generally advisable.
Tax Defense Strategies in Baltimore
Every case turns on its own records and its own facts. These are the lines of defense that recur in Maryland and federal tax matters.
Absence of Willfulness
The central issue in most tax prosecutions. Complexity, poor recordkeeping, a genuine misunderstanding of an obligation, delegation to a bookkeeper or preparer, and a good faith if mistaken belief about the law all bear on whether a violation was voluntary and intentional rather than negligent.
Reliance on a Professional
Where a taxpayer gave complete and accurate information to an accountant or preparer and followed the advice received, that reliance can be directly relevant to willfulness. What matters is what was disclosed to the professional, which is why the preparer's own file often becomes central evidence.
Disputing the Tax Loss
The amount said to be evaded drives federal sentencing and shapes the Maryland exposure. Government computations frequently rely on indirect methods, reconstructing income from bank deposits or net worth rather than from the returns themselves. Those methods carry assumptions, and unreported deposits that were loans, gifts, transfers between accounts, or a return of capital are not income.
Materiality
A charge under § 7206(1) requires that the false statement be material. Not every inaccuracy on a return meets that standard, and where the item does not affect the substantial correctness of the return the element is in issue.
The Limitation Period and the Scope of the Years Charged
Which tax years are properly in the case affects both the exposure and the computation. Years can fall outside the applicable period, and whether particular conduct extends the reach of a charge is a legal question worth examining early.
How the Records and Statements Were Obtained
Whether a summons was properly issued, whether an interview was conducted in circumstances that require warnings, and whether a search was lawful all affect what the government may use.
Why Choose David Walsh-Little as Your Baltimore Tax Defense Attorney
David Walsh-Little's background spans both state and federal criminal defense:
- Graduate of Fordham University and Columbia University School of Law
- Interned during law school for civil rights lawyer William M. Kunstler
- Began his career with the Legal Aid Society in the Bronx, representing indigent criminal defendants
- Founded the Sowebo Center for Justice, a grass roots inner city law office in Baltimore
- Over a decade with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, including three years as chief of the felony trial division in the Baltimore City office
- More than four years as an assistant federal public defender for the District of Maryland
Tax matters are charged in both systems and the elements differ between them. He uses that experience to examine how the government reconstructed the numbers, test the proof of willfulness, and build the strongest available defense for each client.
Serving Baltimore & Surrounding Counties
Walsh-Little Law represents clients throughout the Baltimore metropolitan area in both state and federal courts.
Frequently Asked Questions: Tax Charges in Maryland
When does an audit become a criminal case?
When an examining agent concludes that a discrepancy may be deliberate rather than mistaken, the file can be referred for criminal investigation. The referral is not announced, so the first visible sign is often that the audit goes quiet or that the questions change character. That is a point at which speaking with a lawyer is generally advisable.
If I file an amended return, does the problem go away?
What does willfully actually mean in a tax case?
My accountant prepared the return. Am I still responsible?
Will a Maryland tax charge be a felony?
Contact a Baltimore Tax Evasion Defense Attorney Today, Free Consultation
A tax charge does not have to define your future. Depending on the facts of your case, various defense strategies and legal options may be available, from the question of willfulness to reliance on an accountant or preparer.
Call Walsh-Little Law today at 410-205-9337 for a free, confidential consultation. David will review your case, explain your options, and start building a defense from day one.
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Disclaimer: The Law Office of David Walsh-Little is a Maryland Limited Liability Company established for the practice of law. The information on this website is for general information only. The content on this site is not legal advice and should not be construed as such. Visitors to this site should not rely on its content when making legal decisions. Access to the information on this website is not intended to, and does not create, an attorney-client relationship between the Law Office of David Walsh-Little, LLC and any other person or entity.
