Tax fraud lands S. Barrington man 41-month prison term

A federal judge Wednesday sentenced a South Barrington man to 41 months in prison for failing to report more than $200,000 in income over a five-year period.

The sentence for Paul A. Meegan was five months shorter than the maximum Judge Harry D. Leinenweber could have rendered, said Maria Suarez, spokeswoman for the IRS Chicago office.

"This is a significant sentence," Suarez said.

Meegan, 55, of 11 Windemere Lane, was convicted June 20 in Chicago of five counts of felony tax fraud for filing false tax returns from 1998 to 2002. Suarez said Meegan's crimes deprived the IRS of $66,000 in taxes.

IRS and U.S. attorney officials say they hope Meegan's prison term discourages others from filing fraudulent tax returns.

According to an indictment filed against Meegan in May 2006 by a special grand jury, he failed to report $223,867 in brokerage commissions he earned from Security Mortgage Inc. of Hinsdale and RPM Financial Services of Barrington.

Over the five years, Meegan claimed a total income of $513,971. He ran RPM, which offered credit-repair services.

He was originally scheduled for sentencing in October, but that date was pushed back at least three times.

Court records show Meegan also served time in prison after he was convicted in 1993 for failing to file tax returns for several years.

Meegan's pastor spoke in court Wednesday on his behalf, Suarez said.

Meegan's Web sites continue to be updated. The Paul Meegan Team site at PaulMeegan.com touts his 20 years of lending experience and offers "no income verification products." He also owns rights to other Web domains, including creditrepairbypaul.com and money4updq.com, records show.