Porter County assessor indicted for failing to file tax form
Chicago Tribune
October 19, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-porter-assessor-tax-charge-st-1020-story.html
The Porter County assessor was indicted Friday on misdemeanor tax charges related to his private business.
Jon Snyder, 42, was charged in federal court in Hammond for alleged failure to supply information to the IRS, according to court documents unsealed Friday. The charges are related to his private business, Shoreline Appraisals, and not his role as county assessor.
Defense attorney Matthew Fech said Snyder regrets the error with his business’ filings but is ready to take responsibility for the mistake.
“It was a clerical error for his private business,” Fech said.
Snyder, who was in court, does not intend to resign from office, according to Fech, and there is no legal requirement for him to step aside as the charge is a misdemeanor. Fech said Snyder has done “exemplary” work as assessor.
“The people of Porter County recognize the good work he’s done as Porter County assessor,” Fech said.
Snyder, a Republican in his second term as assessor, is on the November ballot for a third term in office, running unopposed. He declined comment on the charge.
Councilman Dan Whitten, D-At large, who said he has known Snyder for several years through county government, agreed.
“It sounds like Jon made some mistakes in his side business and it sounds like he’s owning up to them,” Whitten said. “It doesn’t have anything to do with his job as assessor and frankly, he’s doing a good job.”
Porter County GOP Chairman Michael Simpson declined to comment.
“It’s very important for his constituents to know that as an elected official, he continues to operate his office in a proper fashion,” Fech said.
Snyder, as owner of Shoreline Appraisals Inc., allegedly failed to give the IRS an “Informational Return 1099 Form, which is a requirement for non-employees who received more than $600 in payments during a calendar year, according to court documents.
Snyder and Shoreline Appraisals allegedly failed to file the document for “Person A,” who was paid more than $5,000 in 2013, according to court documents.
“I knew that these payments to ‘Person A’ required Shoreline Appraisals Inc., to file with the Internal Revenue Service on or before Feb. 28, 2014, an ‘Informational Return 1099 Form’ for ‘Person A’,” Snyder said, in a plea agreement filed Friday afternoon. “Despite knowing my legal responsibly to file with the Internal Revenue Service an ‘Informational Return 1099 Form’ for ‘Person A,’ I willfully failed to file this form on or before Feb. 28, 2014.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson said earlier Friday a plea agreement was expected.
Magistrate Judge John Martin set an Oct. 30 change of plea hearing for Snyder.
The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail, according to court documents, and up to a $100,000 fine.
The plea agreement, filed Friday but not yet accepted by a judge, includes wording that Snyder will cooperate with federal authorities.
“…I agree to cooperate fully, truthfully, and candidly with the United States Attorney or his designated representatives as to my knowledge of or involvement in any violation of federal or state law,” Snyder said in the agreement.
The Porter County’s assessor’s case is not related to the criminal charges against his brother, Portage Mayor James Snyder.
James Snyder and John Cortina, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage, were charged in November 2016 with allegedly violating a federal bribery statue. Federal prosecutors said the mayor allegedly solicited money from Cortina and “Individual A” and gave them a towing contract for Portage.
James Snyder allegedly accepted two checks, one for $10,000 and another for $2,000, from Cortina and “Individual A,” according to court documents.
James Snyder received an additional bribery indictment for alleged accepting $13,000 in connection with a Board of Works contract.
Additional charges allege that James Snyder obstructed Internal Revenue Service laws.
James Snyder and Cortina have both pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to court documents.
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