Gulfport businessman gets prison, owes IRS $210K

Businessman Samuel Frazier has been sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay the Internal Revenue Service $210,589 for failing to file an income tax return for 2009.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John Gargiulo sentenced Frazier, also known as Johnny Frazier, Wednesday in U.S. District Court.

Frazier owned two companies, Frazier Fire Systems LLC and EZ Haul Demolition and Construction LLC, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s tax division said in a news release.

Special agents with the IRS criminal-investigation division had contacted Frazier in 2011 because he had not filed a tax return since 1997, Goldberg said.

In particular, Frazier failed to file a tax return for 2009 although he had a gross income of $618,253.53.

Frazier caused a tax loss of $210,589 for the tax years of 2007 through 2010, Goldberg said.

Frazier was held accountable for taxes owed over the four-year period even though he admitted failing to file his income tax for just one year, court records show.

He had pleaded guilty in November to willful failure to file an income tax return. The charge is a misdemeanor.

His sentencing had been delayed because he disputed the government’s claim he owed more than $435,000 in taxes.

Goldberg commended IRS agents and trial attorney Nathan Brooks, who prosecuted the case, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Gulfport for its assistance.

Frazier has been free on a $25,000 bond.

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Gulfport businessman gets prison, owes IRS $210K."