Scottsdale man sentenced to nearly 2 years in prison for tax evasion

PHOENIX — A Scottsdale man was sentenced to 20 months in prison after he was convicted last September of three counts of tax evasion.

Ryan Patterson, 34, will also be required to pay over $430,000 in restitution to the IRS and serve three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said in a press release.

Patterson, who was a contractor that specialized in remodels, told customers to make out checks to him personally and he would deposit them into his personal account, the release said.

Around $1.9 million in income was failed to be reported and Patterson avoided around $550,000 in taxes.

In 2016, he also reported losing $38,000 while purchasing a primary residence for $445,000 in cash at the same time, the release said.

“The conviction and sentencing of the defendant are the result of an effort by the IRS to vindicate the rights of honest American taxpayers by holding scofflaws to account,” U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino said in the release.

“Instead of following the law, Patterson blatantly ignored it, and selfishly lined his pockets with money to which he wasn’t entitled.”

The IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

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