Castroneves pursued by Treasury
The Brazilian, Helio Castroneves, two times champion of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race is facing in Miami tax evasion charges for 5,5 million dollars earned between 1999 and 2004. If he’s found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in jail.
His attorney, Roy Black, said in his opening statement that the pilot never pretended to evade his tax payment to the US Internal Revenue Service, and since he ignored that country’s tax laws he’s been forced to hire experts on the subject.
For his part, the district attorney in charge of the case, Matt Axelrod, stated that the 33 year old, Brazilian pilot, believed he was above the law and accused him of not complying with the tax regulations. Axelrod also accused Katiucia, Castroneves’ sister who is in charge of his businesses, and the sport lawyer, Alan Miller of taking part in the alleged fraud. ”When he had to pay taxes for the millions of dollars he earned, he failed to do it. He did not pay,” explained the district attorney.
According to the accusation, Castroneves allegedly wrongfully hid income from Penske Racing Inc. and from the Brazilian firm, Coimex International S.A. (a total of around 5.5 million dollars). In accordance with the prosecution, Katuicia Castroneves, the pilot’s sister, transferred part of the hidden money to an account in Switzerland which she controlled together with Helio.
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? is kinda...
