Oakland County man pleads guilty to tax fraud

An Oakland County man pleaded guilty Thursday to evading approximately $318,000 in federal income taxes.

Paul Kozowicz, 75, pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion after intentionally failing to report about $1.15 million in taxable income to the Internal Revenue Service over nine years, the office said of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan in a press release.

Kozowicz, of Walled Lake, was a full-time salaried employee providing accounting and financial services at a Birmingham law firm between 2002 and 2011, according to a plea agreement filed with the court Thursday.

Kozowicz became a part-time employee at the company in 2011 after its reorganization and earned only 20 percent of his previous salary. He became an independent accountant and consultant to make up for lost income, authorities said.

Kozowicz created his own company, FACS, Inc., to provide these services and opened a bank account in the company’s name allowing customers to deposit payments.

He did not report any of the income he earned under FACS on personal or corporate tax returns between 2011 and 2019. Kozowicz never filed a corporate tax return for FACS. He also failed to maintain records for FACS or meet annual filing requirements for Michigan businesses, according to investigators.

Kozowicz used money from the FACS account for personal expenses and needs, but reported only his reduced law firm salary and certain taxable Social Security receipts on federal individual income tax returns, according to the filing. advocacy.

He now faces up to five years in prison and will have to pay $318,243 to the IRS after sentencing, according to the release. Kozowicz’s sentencing is scheduled for January 21.

His attorney, Kimberly Stout, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

“A license to operate a business is not a license to avoid paying taxes,” Charles Miller, IRS Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office, special agent in charge, said in the release. “Paul Kozowicz’s blatant fraud, by hiding his income and having his shell company pay for his purely personal expenses, deceived all Americans, since we all pay our fair share for the government services and protections we receive. CI remains committed to holding accountable those who refuse to follow the rules.

Kozowicz’s plea comes a month after a Macomb County couple who owned home health care businesses were sentenced to prison for Medicare fraud and tax evasion.

Former Madison District Public Schools President Albert Morrison was also convicted of receiving more than $561,000 in bribes and tax evasion in November 2023.

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