Florida mortgage loan officer pleads guilty to tax evasion

A Florida mortgage loan officer pleaded guilty last week to evading federal income taxes on more than three-quarters of a million dollars in income.

Jeffrey Donaldson, of Orlando, made more than $750,000 working as a loan originator for Movement Mortgage, LLC, and as a branch manager at CrossCountry Mortgage, LLC between 2015 and 2018, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Donaldson submitted to both employers false withholding certificates that said he was exempt from any federal income tax withholding. During that time, Donaldson did not file income tax returns, causing a tax loss to the IRS of more than $150,000 the release says.

Donaldson’s sentencing hasn’t been scheduled, though he faces a maximum of five years in prison, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution and fines.

Sometimes real estate professionals are tempted to avoid paying Uncle Sam.

In October 2022, Michigan-based real estate developer Scott Chappelle, an attorney and former certified public accountant, was handed a 38-month prison sentence for tax evasion, the Lansing State Journal reported.

Chapelle spent money on plastic surgery, a house on the lake, an assortment of cars, a 62-foot McKinna Express yacht –– all while telling the IRS he was broke.

In addition to delivering the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Jane Beckering ordered Chappelle to pay $1.2 million in restitution and serve three years of supervised release. He was also fined $150,000, according to the outlet.

Meanwhile, married couple Todd and Julie Chrisley, stars of the USA reality show “Chrisley Knows Best,” have been sentenced to serve 12 and seven years, respectively, in federal prison for fraud and tax evasion, the Washington Post reported. An almost three-week-long trial in Atlanta looked at evidence that the couple defrauded community banks of more than $30 million in loans and evaded federal income taxes for years.