Office of the United States Attorney
Middle District of Florida
PAUL I. PEREZ
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
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PRESS RELEASE Office of the United States Attorney Middle District of Florida PAUL I. PEREZ UNITED STATES ATTORNEY |
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400 North Tampa Street Suite 3200 Tampa, Florida 33602 813/274-6000 813/274-6300 (Fax) |
300 North Hogan Street Suite 700 Jacksonville, Florida 32201 904/301-6300 904/301-6310 (Fax) |
501 West Church Street |
2110 First Street Suite 3-137 Fort Myers, Florida 33901 239/461-2200 239/461-2219 (Fax) |
| July 25, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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December 1, 2006 ORLANDO RESIDENT SENTENCED FOR FILING FALSE INCOME TAX RETURNSOrlando, Florida - U.S. District Judge John Antoon today sentenced JAMES T. O’NEAL, JR., a 61-year-old resident of Orlando, to forty-three months' imprisonment, 50 hours of community service, and restitution of approximately $8. 8 million for two counts of filing a false income tax return for the years 1997 and 1998. O’NEAL pled guilty on December 23, 2005. According to documents filed with the Court, Baker O'Neal Holdings, Inc. (BOH), was a Delaware Corporation doing business in Indianapolis, Indiana and Orlando, Florida. Patrick J. Baker (Baker) was BOH’s sole shareholder of record and served as the Chairman of its Board of Directors from the date of its inception. O’NEAL was the President of BOH from its inception until his removal by Baker on or about September 2, 1998. BOH was a start up business with the primary objective of developing and operating automobile dealerships to be located in and around shopping malls (auto malls). The case was investigated by Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys I. Randall Gold and Roger B. Handberg. |