Two club owners charged with tax fraud.

I've always suspected strip club owners would find it very tempting to keep the money they collect directly from dancers (stage fees, house fees, "fines", etc.) off the books.

I've never understood trying to avoid taxes like that at a club. Most strip clubs are nearly perfect money laundering devices, dealing with that much cash.

"Yeah, we made a million dollars last month. Pathetic Losers spend a lot."

Apparently strip club owners learn their tax strategies from strippers.

Money laundering means laundering for a someone, a someone you generally don't want in your life... or your business.

A friend of mine was a "forensic accountant" - yea, they actually exist LOL! He told me the story of someone selling 50% more coca cola at a higher price than most places in town... huh huh, laundering through vending machines.

My major work is with a forensic accountant and I am married to a tax preparer.

The may way the IRS persues these cases is that they look into your bank accounts and/or personal spending and if they see more going in than you are saying you make or you spending far more than you are claiming to make then they haul you in for an audit and make you show otherwise.

When dealing with the I.R.S., it is better to give than to deceive.

Did Tony Soprano pay taxes?

No. Fuck no. No fuckin' way.

Any business owner can get away with pocketing a lot of cash and not reporting it to the IRS as long as they don't put the money in a bank account or use it to make major purchases that are tracked such as cars, boats, or real estate. Food, clothing, gas, lawn care, etc. can all be bought with cash that a business owner (or stripper) earns and doesn't pay taxes on. But almost any major purchase, including vacations, is tracked and can be traced back to you by the IRS.

It's much easier and safer to deposit the money, report it to the IRS as revenue, and then have your business pay for things like your car, your vacations, your house, etc. and deduct those expenses from your business's profits. Talk with a good tax accountant or attorney first to make sure that you categorize all of your spending properly so that when you're audited the IRS gives you a clean bill of health and goes on to harass someone else.

I do exactly that and I've done it for years. The IRS can't catch me hiding income because I report everything. The only thing that they can do is disallow some of my expenses that I'm claiming and I'm careful about what I claim as a business expense and what I don't.