Happy Tax Day: Economist Charged With Dodging $500K IRS Bill For 22 Years

The U.S. Department of Justice celebrated U.S. Tax Day early on Monday with charges against a California economist for allegedly dodging $500,000 in income taxes since 1989.

David Gilmartin, a consultant with a Ph.D., was hit with a four-count indictment a day before Tuesday's tax filing deadline. The indictment filed in a Manhattan federal court includes charges of tax evasion, obstructing the IRS, failing to pay taxes and not submitting a tax return. Gilmartin faces up to 10 years in prison, for a maximum conviction.

A 68-year-old California resident who lived in New York until 2006, Gilmartin is accused of employing a slew of schemes to duck the IRS over the last two decades. Gilmartin made his money consulting pharmaceutical and credit card companies

Prosecutors say he lied to employers about being exempt from taxes; used someone else's Social Security number as his own; cited a religious objection to giving an employer his Social Security number, preventing the company from withholding taxes; and having checks endorsed straight his bank or a financial company.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York said Gilmartin went to great lengths to avoid his legal obligation as a citizen to pay taxes.

Gilmartin's attorney, Lowell Larry Becraft, a prominent anti-government advocate who is known for representing tax protesters, was not immediately available for comment. He told the New York Post Monday he was not sure of Gilmartin's motives.

He just has his own beliefs, Gilmartin said.