Press Release

Defendant Admits to a Scheme to Evade Taxes by Failing to Disclose More than $3 Million in Income Earned from His Companies and Falsely Reporting Expenses

OAKLAND - Salman Salman pleaded guilty today to one count of tax evasion in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201. The plea was accepted by the Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., United States District Judge. The announcement was made by United States Attorney for the Northern District of California Ismail J. Ramsey and IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Mosley of the Oakland Field Office.

Salman, 47, of Rodeo, Calif., was charged with a scheme to evade taxes by filing false Form 1040 joint income tax returns for himself and his wife for tax years 2016 through 2019. Specifically, Salman admitted to falsely underreporting income he and his wife enjoyed from three businesses he owned and operated during the course of the scheme, The Plug Tattoo & Piercing, Inc., S&S Real Estate Investment Group, and Synergy Investment Group Ohio Inc.

In the plea agreement, Salman admitted that he both understated income from his companies and that he claimed false and overstated expenses as part of his scheme to further reduce his tax obligations. In total, Salman admitted that he failed to disclose over $3.4 million in income he received from his companies for tax years 2016 through 2019.

On December 11, 2023, Salman was charged by information with four counts of tax evasion, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Salman admitted the conduct alleged as support for all four counts in the information, but pleaded guilty to Count Four, which charges him with tax evasion for tax year 2019.

Judge Gilliam scheduled Salman's sentencing hearing for September 18, 2024. For the tax evasion charge, Salman faces a maximum prison term of five years, a maximum fine of $250,000, and restitution of at least $438,247 to the IRS. As part of any sentence, the court may also order Salman to serve a period of supervised release and to pay additional assessments, however, the court will impose a sentence only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Green, with the assistance of Kay Konopaske and Christine Tian of the U.S. Attorney's Office. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.

Updated May 8, 2024