Myrtle Beach man accused of tax evasion

A Myrtle Beach man was arrested Tuesday and accused of tax evasion after investigators with the South Carolina Department of Revenue found he failed to report more than $767,000 in gross income over a three-year period.

Philip Gizzi, 38, was charged with four counts of willful attempt to evade or defeat a tax and two counts of obtaining a signature or property by false pretense.

For tax years 2010 through 2013, Gizzi earned more than $767,000 in gross income and admitted to knowingly failing to timely and voluntarily file South Carolina individual income tax returns. The defendant evaded more than $28,900 in state taxes, according to a news release Tuesday from the Department of Revenue.

Investigators say Gizzi, who was self-employed, knowingly made false and misleading statements regarding the operations and profits of a business he had for sale in 2013.

The defendant was paid $47,500 for the purchase of the business based upon what the Department of Revenue calls “his false representation of facts.”

Gizzi is being held at J. Reuben Long Detention Center pending a bond hearing.

If convicted of tax evasion, the defendant faces up to five years in prison and/or fines up to $10,000 per count. If convicted of falsely obtaining a signature or property, Gizzi faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $500 per count.

This story was originally published March 1, 2016 at 12:25 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach man accused of tax evasion."