DOVER, Del. (AP) - A former National Geographic photographer is facing up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 or more after pleading guilty to tax evasion.
Bruce Kevin Fleming of Lewes, Delaware, pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Wilmington to a single count of tax evasion. His sentencing is set for Jan. 6.
Prosecutors agreed to drop 15 other counts in an indictment charging Fleming with failing to file income tax returns from 2012 to 2016, failing to pay federal taxes withheld from employees of his Lewes photo gallery, and diverting funds from a corporation he set up to pay for personal expenses.
Fleming admitted in his guilty plea that he diverted corporate funds of Portfolio Books In. and Kevin Fleming Inc. in 2013 to pay personal expenses. He also admitted that he falsely told an IRS investigator in 2017 that Portfolio Books was not a real entity because it had no employees, assets or bank accounts.
Fleming stipulated in the plea agreement that he committed similar offenses regarding diversion of corporate funds in several other years. He also stipulated that he deducted thousands of dollars in federal taxes from his employees’ paychecks in 2016 and 2017 but failed to turn the money over to the government. Prosecutors noted that those stipulations will be incorporated into the sentencing guidelines for Fleming as “relevant conduct,” and that the judge can order restitution for the unpaid taxes owed.
Fleming also agreed to file proper tax returns for the years 2012 through 2016 and to pay back taxes and any interest or penalties. The indictment indicates that Fleming’s annual gross income in at least three of those years ranged from roughly $250,000 to $300,000.
Fleming previously worked as a staff photographer for the News Journal in Wilmington and National Geographic. He has published more than 20 photography books.
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