Miami, Florida – A South Florida male escort who lied to the IRS about his income was sentenced today to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay $278,325 in restitution.
According to court documents, 46-year-old Jami Kopacz worked as a paid escort directly with individual clients and with a private escort company as an independent contractor. Kopacz accepted payment for his work through cash, check, wire transfer, and electronic money transfer to JK Trading LLC, a Florida “Subchapter S” corporation that he established in 2015. Kopacz, the sole owner of JK Trading, elected to report the company’s income and losses on his personal tax returns. This meant that JK Trading’s income, losses, deductions, and credits would pass through to Kopacz’s individual tax returns and that Kopacz would pay tax on the company’s earnings at the individual, and not the corporate, tax rate.
From 2015 to 2018, Kopacz filed false corporate tax returns with the IRS that substantially underreported JK Trading’s gross receipts and total income. This understatement on JK Training’s corporate tax returns passed through to Kopacz’s individual tax returns, which were also false because they underreported his total income. Kopacz caused a total tax loss to the Internal Revenue Service of $278,325.
In addition to imposing a term of imprisonment, Judge Roy K. Altman ordered Kopacz to pay $278,325 in restitution to the IRS.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and Tyler R. Hatcher, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman commended the investigative efforts of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Miami Field Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Browne and Trial Attorney Grace Albinson.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-cr-60096-RKA.
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