REMLAP COUPLE CHARGED WITH TAX EVASION

BIRMINGHAM, AL - A husband and wife who reside in Remlap , Alabama , have been charged with tax crimes covering the years 2000 through 2005. ROBERT W. WOODS, 58, and SHANNON E. WOOD, 42, were charged in an indictment filed in United States District Court on March 29, 2007. The indictment was unsealed this week after the arrest of both the Woods.

"Filing falsely that you have "zero" income makes zero sense. It will lead to an indictment such as we have filed in this case," said U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin.

Specifically, the indictment charges ROBERT WOODS with evading federal income taxes for the years 200, 2001, and 2002. SHANNON WOODS is charged with evading federal income taxes for the years 2001 and 2002. Both are charged with failure to file federal income tax returns for the years 2003, 2004, and 2005. By evading their federal income taxes for the years 2000-2003, the defendants committed several additional affirmative acts of tax evasion during those years. Some of those additional acts of tax evasion include filing bogus "zero income" forms with the Internal Revenue Service, claiming that they earned no income for these tax years, submitting false W-2 forms, and instructing employers to withhold minimal amounts of federal taxes from paychecks. The Woods’ willfully failed to file Income tax for the years 2003-2005, despite earning income well above the minimum filing threshold amounts each year.

The indictment states that ROBERT WOODS was employed at various automobile dealerships as a car salesman, and that SHANNON E. WOODS was employed by various law firms as a legal secretary. They were married in 2001.

"While taxpayers have the right to contest their tax liabilities in the courts, taxpayers do not have the right to violate our tax laws," states Rebecca A. Sparkman, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Atlanta Field Division.

The penalty for tax evasion is imprisonment of not more than five years or a fine of $100,000, or both. The penalty for failure to file income tax is imprisonment of not more than one year, or a fine of $25,000, or both.

This matter is being prosecuted on behalf of the U.S. Government by Department of Justice Tax Division Attorneys and the United States Attorney’s Office. Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the matter. The parties will appear for arraignment on the charges in U.S. District Court later this month. They are both free on a $5,000 bond. A trial date has not been set by the Court at this time.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.