- 49 - (8) Petitioner’s admission that he purposely mislabeled checks to his corporation as loans is also evidence of his willingness to defraud. See Solomon v. Commissioner, 732 F.2d 1459 (6th Cir. 1984), affg. T.C. Memo. 1982-603; Afshar v. Commissioner, 692 F.2d 751 (4th Cir. 1982), affg. without published opinion T.C. Memo. 1981-241. The record before the Court clearly and convincingly demonstrates a pattern of consistent underreporting of income. The record clearly and convincingly shows that petitioner intentionally concealed significant business operations from his accountants and bookkeeper. Petitioner’s vague testimony buttresses our finding. There can be little doubt that petitioner’s failure to keep adequate records of all earnings and expenses is material evidence of fraud. See Otsuki v. Commissioner, 53 T.C. at 109. “To hold otherwise would, as the Supreme Court stated in United States v. Johnson, 319 U.S. 503, 518 (1943) ‘be tantamount to holding that skillful concealment is an invincible barrier to proof.’” Id. at 109. The insufficiency of petitioner’s records, under these circumstances, constitutes a significant indicia of fraud. Id. at 110. 3. Petitioner’s Conviction and Collateral Estoppel We find petitioner’s guilty plea of knowingly filing false returns for 1991 and 1992 is additional evidence, which ensures us that the imposition of the fraud penalty in this case isPage: Previous 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 Next
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