‘The Situation’, Michael Sorrentino pleads guilty to tax evasion
Former Jersey Shore star, Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino, along with his brother Marc both plead guilty to tax crimes Friday, where each face years in prison.
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Michael, 36 and Marc, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and to one count of aiding in the preparation of a fraudulent tax return, respectively.
“What the defendants admitted to today, quite simply, is tantamount to stealing money from their fellow taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Carpenito Friday. “All of us are required by law to pay our fair share of taxes. Celebrity status does not provide a free pass from this obligation.”
Michael Sorrentino admitted that in tax year 2011, he earned taxable income, including some that was paid in cash, and that he concealed a portion of his income to evade paying the full amount of taxes he owed. He also made cash deposits into bank accounts in amounts less than $10,000, in an effort to ensure that these deposits would not come to the attention of the IRS.
Marc Sorrentino admitted that for tax year 2010, he earned taxable income and that he assisted his accountants in preparing his personal tax return by willfully providing them with false information and fraudulently underreporting his income.
U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton scheduled sentencing for April 25. Michael Sorrentino faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for tax evasion. Marc Sorrentino faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison for aiding in the preparation of a fraudulent tax return. Both also face a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. Gregg Mark, the accountant for the Sorrentino brothers, previously pleaded guilty in 2015 to conspiring to defraud the United States with respect to their tax liabilities.
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