A New Orleans trucking company owner is charged with filing false tax returns, one that left out about $79,011 of income and another that claimed about $235,274 in false deductions. James Perdigao, 64, owner of DC Trucking and Hauling, was charged in a two-count bill of information dated Oct. 26, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana said Oct. 29. Both counts fall under the federal statute on false returns, 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1).
U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle called the bill of information “merely a charge” and said “the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.” No court date is listed.
Which returns are at issue?
The first count covers Perdigao’s individual return for 2022, which the office says “failed to include income in the approximate amount of $79,011.01.” The second covers a 2023 corporate return that he filed as owner of DC Trucking and Hauling, which “included approximately $235,274 in false deductions.”
The two figures come from different returns in different tax years and are not added together. The announcement does not say how the deductions were claimed or what tax the government says went unpaid.
What do the two kinds of charge have in common?
One side of a tax return is income that must be reported, and the other is deductions that must be backed up. The case puts a dollar figure on each. Anyone who runs a business, drives for hire or earns money on the side deals with both.
The IRS says business owners “must keep your records as long as needed to prove the income or deductions on a tax return” and “must be able to prove certain elements of expenses to deduct them.” Records can be kept in any system that clearly shows income and expenses. The IRS says good records also help an owner monitor how the business is doing, prepare financial statements and support the items reported on a return.
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How long does the IRS say to keep tax records?
Its retention guidance sets three years for most returns. The period stretches to six years when income that should have been reported was left off the return and it is more than 25% of the gross income shown. Records should be kept indefinitely when no return was filed or when a fraudulent return was filed.
Records that back up deductions fall under the same retention rules: the IRS says records supporting income, deductions or credits generally have to be kept until the period of limitations for that return runs out. Deductions are the half of the return behind the larger of the two figures in Perdigao’s case.
How long can the IRS go back?
The Taxpayer Advocate Service explains that the assessment statute expiration date is the end of the period in which the IRS can assess tax for a given year. The general rule is three years from the date the original return was received.
If a return omitted more than 25% of gross income, that period stretches to six years. For a false or fraudulent return filed to evade tax, the Taxpayer Advocate Service says the IRS has an unlimited amount of time to assess. Those civil time limits are separate from a criminal case like this one, which the Justice Department handles through the courts.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service adds that the period can be extended if a taxpayer signs a statutory waiver or extension agreement. A taxpayer can negotiate the proposed period or refuse to sign it.
What paper backs up a business deduction?
The IRS says purchases, sales, payroll and other business transactions generate supporting documents, and that those documents hold the information an owner records in the books. For a trucking company, fuel, repair and insurance receipts are typical examples.
The IRS retention guidance treats employment tax records as a separate case, to be kept at least four years after the tax is due or paid, whichever is later. A deduction that rests on a vague entry in a ledger, with no document behind it, is the kind of figure that cannot be proven when someone asks.
What penalty range does the bill of information carry?
The bill of information has two counts of filing a false tax return. Perdigao is named in one as an individual taxpayer and in the other as the owner who signed his company’s return, so the charges reach both his personal finances and the business he runs.
The office lists up to three years in prison, a fine of up to $100,000 and up to one year of supervised release after prison, along with a mandatory $100 special assessment. A judge sets any sentence, and only after a conviction or a guilty plea.
IRS Criminal Investigation handled the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba, deputy chief of the Criminal Division and chief of the Financial Crimes Unit, is prosecuting.
What does a case like this mean for ordinary filers?
The charges in New Orleans turn on figures the government says were left off or made up. That is a different problem from an honest error fixed on an amended return or in answer to an IRS notice.
For retirees, the same two lines, income and deductions, still set the size of the tax bill.
Is every income line on your own return working in your favor?
The case shows how much hangs on two lines, what is reported and what is deducted. For retirees, a missed deduction or an unplanned withdrawal can cost real money in the same way, even when nothing about the return is wrong.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
