Taking the Al Capone approach, U.S. Attorney John Lausch announces additional political indictments before President Joe Biden shows him the door:

Three Individuals Charged With Federal Tax Offenses 

CHICAGO — Three individuals have been indicted on tax offenses in separate indictments returned in federal court in Chicago.

• EDWARD ACEVEDO, 57, of Chicago, is charged with four counts of willfully failing to file an income tax return and two counts of tax evasion. 
• MICHAEL ACEVEDO, 34, of Chicago, is charged with three counts of willfully failing to file an income tax return and one count of willfully filing a false tax return. 
• ALEX ACEVEDO, 35, of Chicago, is charged with two counts of willfully filing a false tax return.

Arraignment for Alex Acevedo is set for March 3, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang.  Arraignment for Michael Acevedo is set for March 3, 2021, at 1:30 p.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Beth W. Jantz.  Arraignment for Edward Acevedo is set for March 5, 2021, at 1:30 p.m., before U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly.

The indictments were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Tamera Cantu, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amarjeet S. Bhachu, Sarah E. Streicker, Diane MacArthur, Timothy J. Chapman, Matthew L. Kutcher, and Michelle Kramer.

According to the indictment against Edward Acevedo, Edward Acevedo received gross income from an Illinois company in the calendar years 2017 and 2018 but he attempted to evade taxes for those years by receiving payments in cash and handling his affairs in a manner so as to avoid the creation and maintenance of customary business and accounting records, the indictment states. 

He also willfully failed to file individual income tax returns for those years, as well as for the calendar years 2015 and 2016, the indictment states. 

The charges against Michael Acevedo allege that he willfully failed to file an income tax return for the calendar years 2016, 2017, and 2018, while the charges against Alex Acevedo accuse him of willfully filing a false tax return for the calendar years 2016 and 2018.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.