FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Becky Smalley
(302)577-8667
rsmalley@state.de.us

March 18, 2002

WILMINGTON PHYSICIAN PLEADS GUILTY

(WILMINGTON, Del.) - William M. Remington, Director of Revenue, announced today that Dr. Kenny Cooper, a Wilmington physician pleaded guilty in Superior Court to three tax offenses. 

Cooper, 47, practices medicine at his office in the 1100 block of Gilpin Ave. 

He pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of failure to file a return, supply information, or pay tax for 1998, 1999 and 2000, an offense that is punishable by up to a maximum one-year imprisonment and up to $2,300 in fines per count. 

Judge Richard S. Gebelein sentenced Cooper to three years probation and ordered him to pay a $1,000 fine along with restitution to the Delaware Division of Revenue of more than $20,000; $15,000 in personal income tax for 1998, 1999 and 2000 plus more than $5,000 in delinquent employer withholding tax. 

The charges against Cooper are based on an investigation conducted by the Delaware Division of Revenue which determined Dr. Cooper had not filed personal taxes since 1991. 

The investigation resulted in a grand jury indictment on Feb. 11, 2002 on six counts: three misdemeanor counts of failing to file personal tax returns and report more than $270,000 of Delaware taxable income and pay more than $15,000 in tax for 1998, 1999, 2000. 

The indictment also included 3 felony counts of failing to collect or pay over state withholding taxes in the amount of more than $3,200 for years 1997, 1998 and 1999. 

"The Division of Revenue will not take criminal action against taxpayers who self-disclose their delinquent tax filings by coming forward and working with our representatives to resolve such matters," said Mr. Remington. "But where taxpayers are unwilling to self-disclose, service to law-abiding citizens requires the Division of Revenue to deal aggressively with those who fail to file or who underreport their taxes, as with Dr. Cooper, who knew very well that he had tax filing obligations and yet ignored them."

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