Massachusetts Husband and Wife divorce.

Husband, who is an attorney, is required to pay Wife alimony.

By default, alimony payments are deductible by the paying spouse and includible as income to the receiving spouse.

Husband allegedly deducts Husband’s alimony payments from his income taxes for 2004 through 2008.

But, in their settlement agreement, which was adopted in a court order, Husband and Wife had reportedly agreed that the alimony payments would be taxable to Husband rather than to Wife. This is permitted under the Internal Revenue Code.

Accordingly, Husband shorted the government by over $132,000 in income taxes. Bad enough.

Husband dug himself deeper into the hole by allegedly showing investigators a forged court order and misrepresenting facts in an effort to cover the truth up.

As a result of which, the government has charged Husband with tax evasion.

The maximum sentence for this charge is five years’ confinement, plus three years of probation, and a quarter of a million dollar fine.

Read more in this Needham [MA] Times article: Needham man charged with evading $132,216 in income taxes.