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Press Release

Cincinnati nightclub owner pleads guilty to illegally possessing firearms, underreporting taxes

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Ohio

CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati nightclub owner pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to federal firearms and tax crimes.

 

Julian Rodgers, 45, of Cincinnati, was charged by a bill of information on March 31.

 

He admitted to underreporting his income by at least $100,000 and to illegally possessing firearms after being convicted of a felony crime.

 

According to his plea agreement, Rodgers reported his 2017 income as approximately $90,000. He did not report at least $105,107.92 in additional income that year, causing a tax loss of nearly $36,000.

 

Financial records show Rodgers spent money in 2017 on personal expenditures out of his business bank accounts, including payments on a Porsche and gambling expenses at a casino.

 

In August 2018, federal agents advised Rodgers that, as a convicted felon, he was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition. When agents executed a search warrant at Rodgers’ residence in October 2018, they discovered two firearms, a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and a 40-caliber handgun.

 

Possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony crime is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Filing a false income tax return carries a potential penalty of up to three years in prison. Congress sets the maximum statutory sentence. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

 

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation; and Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Matthew W. McFarland. Assistant Deputy Criminal Chief Timothy S. Mangan and Assistant United States Attorney Kenneth L. Parker are representing the United States in this case.

 

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Updated June 3, 2021

Topics
Firearms Offenses
Tax