MIAMI, FL – A federal grand jury in Miami has indicted Joseph Stewart of Miami for tax evasion and filing false tax returns related to millions in income he allegedly earned from selling internet access to American servicemembers and contractors stationed overseas.
According to the indictment, from 2013 to 2021, Stewart earned over $6.8 million in dividends from his 50% ownership in a business serving U.S. personnel abroad. While he filed tax returns before the business became profitable, he allegedly stopped filing timely returns once he began receiving significant dividend income.
After receiving IRS correspondence in 2019, Stewart allegedly hired a tax attorney and return preparers but misrepresented that more than $3.8 million in dividends received between 2013 and 2018 were nontaxable loans. He also allegedly claimed not to know the other shareholders. These false statements led to underreported income on tax returns from 2013 through 2020, all of which were allegedly filed with the IRS—except the 2013 return.
The indictment further alleges that in April 2016, Stewart submitted a false affidavit to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, claiming to have filed federal tax returns for the prior three years and attaching unfiled copies while asserting they were true and correct.
If convicted, Stewart faces a maximum of five years in prison for each tax evasion count and three years for each count of subscribing to a false tax return, along with restitution, supervised release, and monetary penalties.
The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. Prosecution is being handled by Trial Attorneys Ezra Spiro and Likhitha Butchireddygari of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
An indictment is an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
