A Riverside County man, Mac Martin Anderson, 59, has agreed to plead guilty to charges of filing false income tax returns. This comes after he sold memorabilia signed by Stan Lee and received over $1.2 million in proceeds that were not reported to the IRS, according to an announcement by the Justice Department.
Anderson is set to plead guilty to two counts of willfully subscribing to a false tax return. Each count carries a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison.
The plea agreement details that between 2015 and 2018, Anderson leveraged his personal relationship with Marvel Comics publisher Stan Lee to sell autographed Marvel-related items at comic conventions. The sales were made to dealers, brokers, and fans who paid Anderson through cash or checks.
These payments constituted regular income that should have been reported annually on Anderson's tax returns. For the years 2015 through 2018, Anderson earned $289,460, $452,269, $414,166, and $80,590 respectively from these sales. In total, he admitted to earning approximately $1,236,485 in reportable income from selling the memorabilia. This resulted in him owing about $482,833 in taxes to the IRS.
As part of his plea deal, Anderson has agreed to pay restitution amounting to approximately $482,833 to the IRS.
The case is being investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation unit. It is prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mark Aveis of the Major Frauds Section and Sarah E. Spielberger of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section.