Michigan man gets jail time for Ferrari engine sale

Fri, Oct 30 2015

Tax evasion is not something to mess about with. Ask Al Capone. For most of us that sell stuff, though, it's not something we really think about. Are you honestly going to pay taxes on that old iPhone 5 you sold? The couch with the questionable stain? No, because paying tax on something you sold for a relative pittance is just a pain in the butt. If you sell one of Aurelio Lampredi's Ferrari engines – used in a range of vintage racers, including the 750 Monza shown above Â– for over $600,000, you might want to make a point of paying the taxes on your profits.

A Michigan man found that out the hard way, Reuters reports, after selling the Lampredi engine in 2009. 71-year-old Terry Myr of Smiths Creek, MI, was convicted in April of tax evasion and four counts of failing to file a tax return and was sentenced to two years in prison and two years of supervised release on Thursday. He was also ordered to pay $738,904 in back taxes, interest, and penalties Â– he already owed $195,000 in back taxes before his conviction Â– by a US District Court judge, Reuters reports.

Now, this wasn't a simple case of Myr forgetting to set some money aside from the sale. The buyer wire-transferred the $610,000 into a corporate account he made the week prior. Then, Myr promptly withdrew $360,000, which he used to buy silver and gold coins, while the remainder was transferred to other accounts Â– be they personal or corporate Â– or simply used for checks to cash. Hence the tax evasion charge.

According to Reuters, no explanation was given as to how Uncle Sam uncovered the engine sale in the first place.

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By Brandon Turkus