Helio in hot water
Written by Scott Keller · October 3, 2008
As I was tuning into ESPNEWS last night to see how the Dodgers fared against the Cubbies, I was shocked at ESPN’s report that Helio Castroneves has been indicted on charges of Conspiracy to Defraud the U.S. and Tax Evasion.
TMZ.com is in on the action, of course, because Helio is more famous to the average American for having fast feet on the dance floor than fast moves on the racetrack. TMZ is reporting:
Helio was indicted along with his sister, Katiucia Castroneves and Alan Miller, Helio’s lawyer. The three are charged with conspiracy “for the purpose of impeding, impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful government functions of the Internal Revenue Service.”
Ouch, ouch, and ouch!
This comes at a time with the US Treasury needs dough, and are sending out the IRS attack dogs and investigators out to dig up more money. But this is a racing site, not one for politics, so let’s let that slide for now.
Various reports are available about the indictment. TMZ added in their report:
They are accused of trying to “conceal and disguise” Helio’s income. One of the charges — that Helio received $2 million in salary from a Brazilian trading company but made it appear that he only received $200,000.
The LA Times story offered these details:
The 33-year-old driver is charged with conspiracy and six counts of tax evasion for purportedly failing to report to the IRS about $5.5 million in income between 1999 and 2004, according to court documents. Each count carries a maximum five-year prison sentence.
We should not rush to judgment about this case, but if Helio falsified tax returns to the tune of millions of dollars of unreported income, he should face the music.
As for the financial impacts of what Helio allegedly owes, they pale in comparison to the 30 years in prison he can be slammed with; five years each on six separate counts.
Dance that one off Helio, if you can. Maybe all that fence climbing will be good practice for an alternative early release?
Ooopps, for 5 years in a row he failed to declare a million each year………must have been a oversight.
[...] Helio Castroneves in Hot water with the Feds [...]
Cup driver Jimmie Johnson has the same Lawyer.