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petitioner stated that, in exchange for surrendering rooms 103
and 141, he received the new apartment rent free for 3 years and
nothing else. Petitioner knew this to be false. At the second
meeting with Signorile, petitioner again stated that, in exchange
for surrendering rooms 103 and 141, he received the new apartment
rent free for 3 years and nothing else. Petitioner also signed a
statement to that effect. Also at the second meeting, petitioner
produced a copy of the sublease agreement, but he did not produce
a copy of the surrender agreement. We conclude that petitioner
attempted to mislead Signorile.
Petitioner argues that he is not fluent in English, and he
did not realize that he was required to report the amounts
received from Seawall. Courts have considered the educational
level and sophistication of the taxpayer when considering the
Commissioner's fraud determination. Id. at 19. When Seawall
initially approached petitioner about vacating rooms 103 and 141,
petitioner contacted Spyropoulos. Spyropoulos represented
petitioner when the surrender agreement and sublease agreement
were negotiated. Spyropoulos spoke fluent Greek, and he
explained the agreements to petitioner. The affidavit of
Caramalis attached to the surrender agreement indicates that
Caramalis read and explained to petitioner, in the Greek
language, the terms of the surrender agreement. On November 14,
1989, petitioner entered into the surrender agreement and the
sublease agreement with Seawall. When it came time for
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