JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville man was sentenced to 22 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to evading more than $3.7 million in federal income taxes over more than a decade.
Phillip Mak earned more than $10 million between 2008 and 2020 but failed to pay any federal income tax during that 13-year span, according to a release from the State Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
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Despite repeated IRS notices and a Notice of Federal Tax Lien filed against his property, the State Attorney’s Office said Mak had not paid his tax obligation by the end of 2021.
Prosecutors said Mak took deliberate steps to shield his assets from the IRS. Between 2019 and 2021, he transferred $1 million to his domestic partner rather than paying his tax debt. He also transferred ownership of his personal residence to a trust created and controlled by his domestic partner and funneled personal income into a corporate bank account he established.
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Mak pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion. In addition to the 22-month prison term, he was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $3,751,485 in restitution to the United States.
“Tax evasion isn’t financial strategy — it’s a deliberate choice with predictable consequences,” said Ron Loecker, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Florida Field Office.
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