Francis J. O’Reilly, a Danbury resident who ran a private law practice in Carmel specializing in bankruptcy and foreclosure defense, was sentenced in White Plains federal court to 18 months in prison for tax evasion.
According to the Internal Revenue Service, O’Reilly failed to pay more than roughly $155,771 in payroll taxes between 1997 and 2018, resulting in a liability of approximately $232,283 after interest and penalties.
He also withdrew approximately $481,673 in untaxed funds from his attorney trust account for personal use between 2013 and 2017, which he did not report on his tax returns for those years.
The IRS also charged O”™Reilly with failing to pay taxes that he did report, evading approximately $566,027 in unpaid liabilities during the tax years 2007 through 2018.
In 2016, O’Reilly submitted a compromise offer to the IRS proposing to settle at least approximately $691,561 in outstanding tax liabilities for $12,400. However, the IRS stated O’Reilly made material misstatements and omissions regarding his income and assets in the offer. The IRS estimated O”™Reilly caused the agency to incur losses of more than $800,000, including penalties and interest.
O’Reilly pleaded guilty in a court appearance last December. In addition to his prison sentence, O”™Reilly was ordered to serve two years of supervised release and to pay the IRS a restitution of $801,969.
