A Beverly Hills man pleaded guilty Tuesday to evading more than $1 million of federal and state taxes.
Haim Jerry Kohen entered his plea in Los Angeles federal court. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 1, when he faces up to five years in federal prison, prosecutors noted.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Kohen owned and operated a business that bought and sold bulk quantities of used clothing. Prosecutors said he spent more than a decade underreporting or not reporting income on his tax returns, and tried to conceal it from the Internal Revenue Service by diverting funds from his business to himself and dealing in cash.
In one case, prosecutors said Kohen diverted cash payments received from a customer and kept the money for himself rather than depositing it into his business account, then he failed to report the money on his business or personal tax returns.
In November 2013, that same customer owed Kohen’s business more than $648,000, so the customer agreed to repay Kohen personally, and Kohen never reported the income, prosecutors said. He would also lend money to people, then fail to report interest he earned on the payments.
Kohen also failed to report rental income from two properties he owned in Beverly Hills and Tarzana, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In total, Kohen caused a tax loss to the IRS and state of California of at least $1.19 million, prosecutors said.