KC Reporter

An attorney from Independence, Missouri, has been sentenced to federal prison for tax evasion. Acting U.S. Attorney Jeffrey P. Ray announced that John C. Carnes, aged 70, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs after pleading guilty to tax evasion on November 25, 2024. Carnes is also required to pay restitution amounting to $794,540.

Court documents reveal that Carnes admitted to willfully attempting to evade paying personal income taxes from 2012 through 2018. He reportedly kept his income in attorney trust accounts and withdrew cash from these accounts for personal and business expenses. These accounts are typically used by lawyers to hold clients' or third parties' funds separate from their own property.

Carnes maintained two trust fund accounts, withdrawing $444,527 in cash from one account between 2016 and 2019 and $144,364 from the second account between 2013 and 2015. The withdrawn cash was used for gambling and personal expenses.

Additionally, Carnes deposited $232,000 in fees for services related to the sale of the former Rockwood Golf Course property in November 2017 and the Missouri City Power Plant project into his attorney trust accounts.

The IRS calculated a total tax loss of $618,949 due to Carnes's actions during the tax years 2012 through 2018. Furthermore, unpaid federal income taxes for previous years added up to an additional $175,590, bringing the total relevant conduct tax loss to $794,540.

From 2009 until 2020, the IRS conducted various investigative and enforcement activities concerning Carnes's outstanding tax liabilities.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rudolph R. Rhodes IV and Paul S. Becker prosecuted this case following an investigation by IRS-Criminal Investigation.