Real Estate Consultant Sentenced For Tax Crimes In Kickback Scheme

By KIMBERLEY HAAS

Officials at the US Department of Justice say a Michigan real estate consultant and accountant will serve 18 months in prison after he filed false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.

Steven Mills, of Harbor Springs and formerly of East Lansing, was retained by a corporation to supervise several real estate agents. Between 2012 and 2015, Mills demanded and received about $577,000 in kickbacks which he did not report on his tax returns, according to officials.

Mills did not report all of the income he earned when he operated Mills Real Estate Consulting LLC. Officials say he did not report $100,000 he received from a real estate developer between 2013 and 2015.

IRS-Criminal Investigation led the investigation on the activity of Mills. Trial Attorneys Kenneth Vert and Jeffrey McLellan of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Stella of the Western District of Michigan prosecuted the case.

US District Judge Paul Maloney ordered Mills to serve one year of supervised release after he is let out of prison. He will have to pay $297,858 in restitution to the United States.

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