Dancing With the Tax Man

Indy 500 and Dancing With the Stars winner Helio Castroneves had better start doing some serious hoofing if he's going to avoid doing his dancing in federal prison:

IndyCar Series star Helio Castroneves—a two-time Indianapolis 500 champion, as well as the darling of Dancing With the Stars—has been indicted in federal court in Miami on felony conspiracy and tax-evasion charges: one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, and six counts of tax evasion.

Castroneves, 33, was indicted along with his sister, Katiucia Castroneves, and his attorney, Alan R. Miller (charged only with conspiracy), who served as treasurer and secretary, respectively, of Castroneves Racing Inc. Helio Castroneves was president. According to the government’s court filings, Castroneves Racing served to manage the driver’s day-to-day career operations.

According the indictment, another company, Seven Promotions Corp., was incorporated in Panama and controlled by Helio and Katiucia Castroneves, along with another family member. The government alleges that the defendants used Seven Promotions to conceal and disguise the true amount of Helio Castroneves’s income, by transferring money through various bank accounts, as well as disguising payments intended for Castroneves as payments made to the company. The indictment alleges, among other things, that Miller filed fraudulent federal income-tax returns on Castroneves’s behalf that failed to report approximately $5,550,000 in income received from Penske and Castroneves sponsor Coimex, a Brazilian trading company.

The government further contends that to conceal the more than $5 million in income not reported in tax filings, the defendants testified falsely during a February 2004 civil trial related to matters concerning Seven Promotions.

Each count is punishable by a maximum of five years in federal prison upon conviction.

If I was making that kind of money I would probably overpay my taxes just to avoid running afoul of the law. The IRS enjoys going after high profile targets and making examples of them, and I wouldn't want to make one out of myself with shifty dealings.