 Helio Castroneves: Charged of evading tax
On Thursday Brazilian race-car driver Helio Castroneves and his sister and lawyer were indicted on charges of conspiring to defraud the United States of taxes on $5.55 million of income. The prosecutors have said this comment.
Details about Helio Castroneves have been grabbed from various sources. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and his sister, Katiucia Castroneves, were also charged with 6 counts of income tax evasion for the years 1999 to 2004.
Last year Helio Castroneves has gained popularity outside the auto racing world when he beat out English pop singer Melanie Brown and became the winner of the program, "Dancing with the Stars," a hit television show of ABC channel in which celebrities compete in ballroom dancing contests.
Thirty three year old Helio Castroneves resides in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables. He and his sister are both Brazilian citizens.
While briefing the reporters at a news conference, U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta said, "Whether you make a living parking cars or racing them, paying taxes is a responsibility that everyone shares".
Helio Castroneves' attorney, Mark Seiden, has called the charges to be quite disappointing. He further said that the auto racer has done nothing wrong.
"Helio relied on the advice of competent professionals, accountants and tax lawyers, in preparing his returns. He followed their advice in good faith," "We believe that once the facts are presented to a jury he will be exonerated," added Siesta.
The indictment alleged the Castroneves siblings and attorney Alan Miller used a Panamanian shell corporation to fraudulently conceal from the Internal Revenue Service income that Castroneves earned as a racer.
According to it, Helio Castroneves himself has received 6 million dollars over three years under a driving and licensing agreement with Penske Racing. However he only reported 1 million dollars on his tax returns.
On Friday Helio Castroneves along with others were supposed to appear before a magistrate.
The prosecutors said that Castroneves and his sister are going to face a statutory maximum of up to thirty-five years in prison if convicted on all charges.However, actual penalties were supposed to be much less and were tied to the amount of unpaid tax. |
News / Gossips by starloverhugger
