Indy 500 Champ Castroneves Crashes Into Tax Laws

Two time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves is also a six time U.S. income tax evader, according to the Department of Justice's Tax Division.

On Oct. 2, a Florida grand jury indicted Castroneves, along with his sister and lawyer, on six separate counts of income tax evasion for tax years 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. According to the charges, the group conspired to hide reportable income through the use of a fraudulent offshore account scheme.

"Taxpayers, small and large, famous and not famous, should be aware of the enormously severe consequences they face if they fraudulently use offshore accounts to hide income, including potentially going to prison, paying back all their taxes plus interest and penalties, and being branded a felon for the rest of their lives," said Nathan J. Hochman, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division in a press release.

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