Irene Paster and Yolanda Paster Sentenced in U.S. District Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 28, 2013 |
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Butte, on October 25, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, Irene Paster, age 65, and Yolanda Paster, age 40, residents of Big Sky, were each sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 10 months
- Special assessment: $25
- Supervised release: one year
In addition, Yolanda Paster was fined $3,000.
They were sentenced in connection with their guilty pleas to willful failure to file a tax return.
In an offer of proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad C. Spraker, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
A married person filing a joint return must file a tax return if his or her income exceeds $18,700 in gross income for the 2009 calendar year. During the 2009 calendar year, Irene Paster and her spouse had gross income totaling $91,322.
Irene filed an extension of time to file an IRS Form 1040 for the 2009 tax year, which created an extension date of October 15, 2010. Irene, however, willfully failed to file a 2009 return on or before October 15, 2010.
An unmarried person, who is not a surviving spouse or head of household, must file a tax return if his or her income exceeds $9,350 in gross income for the 2009 calendar year. During the 2009 calendar year, Yolanda Paster, Irene's daughter, had a gross income totaling $60,413.
Yolanda filed an extension of time to file an IRS Form 1040 for the 2009 tax year, which created an extension date of October 15, 2010. Yolanda, however, willfully failed to file a 2009 return on or before October 15, 2010.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the “truth in sentencing” guidelines mandate that they will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, they do have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for “good behavior.” However, this reduction will not exceed 15 percent of the overall sentence.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Secret Service.