For release on December 4, 2014 CONTACT:
Judy Lee, Deputy District Attorney
Public Integrity Unit
(408) 792-2798 FORMER SYMPHONY DIRECTOR GUILTY OF TAX FRAUD
The former executive director of the Peninsula Symphony Association this week was found guilty of tax fraud.
Superior Court Judge Allison Danner’s verdict comes two months after Stephen Jay Carlton pleaded no contest to embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Los Altos orchestra of volunteer musicians.
Carlton, 46, of Novato, remains in custody pending his sentencing. He faces up to 16 years in prison when he is sentenced next year.
The $272,000 embezzlement was uncovered in September of last year when a bank alerted a board member that the non-profit’s funds were showing an unusually low balance. Symphony officials brought the issue to local police. Carlton resigned soon afterward.
An investigation by the Los Altos Police Department and the state Franchise Tax Board showed that Carlton had written numerous checks to himself from Symphony funds. He had used some of the money to pay off personal debts, including back taxes.
On his state income tax returns for 2010 through 2012, Carlton underreported wages from the PSA and failed to report the embezzled funds as income. He was found guilty of a misdemeanor and two felony counts for filing false tax returns. ###
Judy Lee, Deputy District Attorney
Public Integrity Unit
(408) 792-2798 FORMER SYMPHONY DIRECTOR GUILTY OF TAX FRAUD
The former executive director of the Peninsula Symphony Association this week was found guilty of tax fraud.
Superior Court Judge Allison Danner’s verdict comes two months after Stephen Jay Carlton pleaded no contest to embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Los Altos orchestra of volunteer musicians.
Carlton, 46, of Novato, remains in custody pending his sentencing. He faces up to 16 years in prison when he is sentenced next year.
The $272,000 embezzlement was uncovered in September of last year when a bank alerted a board member that the non-profit’s funds were showing an unusually low balance. Symphony officials brought the issue to local police. Carlton resigned soon afterward.
An investigation by the Los Altos Police Department and the state Franchise Tax Board showed that Carlton had written numerous checks to himself from Symphony funds. He had used some of the money to pay off personal debts, including back taxes.
On his state income tax returns for 2010 through 2012, Carlton underreported wages from the PSA and failed to report the embezzled funds as income. He was found guilty of a misdemeanor and two felony counts for filing false tax returns. ###