DOJ Announces Guilty Pleas of Tax-Evading Couple 

Husband Pleads Guilty To Tax Evasion And Wife Pleads Guilty To Aiding And Assisting The Preparation And Filing Of False Tax Returns With The IRS

Monday, August 24, 2020

HARRISBURG — The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Matthew Forney, age 41, of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, pled guilty on August 21, 2020, to four counts of tax evasion. Kim Forney, age 47, of Windsor, Pennsylvania, pled guilty on August 17, 2020, to four counts of aiding in the preparation and filing of false tax returns.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, on September 23, 2018, police were called to the residence of Matthew and Kim Forney for reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, police discovered that their daughter's boyfriend had shot both Matthew and Kim Forney. While securing the residence, officers observed bloody footprints leading through the house to an outside pool house. Inside the pool house, the police located a garbage bag, which contained a large amount of bundled United States currency. Police obtained and executed a search warrant. Inside a large gun safe located in the residence, police found additional amounts of bundled cash attached to daily receipts. The officers seized the cash and receipts.

The Forney's daughter's boyfriend was charged with two counts of aggravated assault in connection with the shooting, but charges were ultimately dismissed on June 19, 2019.

An investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service — Criminal Investigation determined that this currency was income that Matthew and Kim Forney earned through their business, but omitted on their federal income tax returns for the years 2014 through 2017. The Forneys deposited checks from their business sales into the business bank account, which was reported as taxable income on their tax returns, along with credit card sales. However, the Forneys retained any cash from their business sales at their residence. The Forneys did not report this cash as taxable income on their tax returns or pay taxes on these monies. The unreported income for these years totaled $817,713, which resulted in $292,066 in unpaid taxes.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service — Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Daryl Bloom is prosecuting the case.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is three years of imprisonment on each count, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.