Current:Home > StocksYoga business founder pleads guilty to tax charge in New York City -GrowthInsight
Yoga business founder pleads guilty to tax charge in New York City
View
Date:2025-04-15 20:39:44
NEW YORK (AP) — An international yoga business founder whose chain of yoga studios promoted themselves as “Yoga to the People” pleaded guilty on Friday to a tax charge in a New York federal court.
Gregory Gumucio, 63, of Colorado, apologized as he admitted not paying over $2.5 million in taxes from 2012 to 2020. He was freed on bail to await a Jan. 16 sentencing by Judge John P. Cronan, who questioned Gumucio during the plea proceeding.
A plea agreement Gumucio reached with prosecutors calls for him to receive a sentence of about five years in prison, the maximum amount of time he could face after pleading guilty to a single count of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.
Two other defendants are awaiting trial in the case.
Gumucio’s business, which generated over $20 million in revenue, had operated in about 20 locations in the United States, including in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland, California; Tempe, Arizona; Orlando, Florida; and cities in Colorado and Washington. It also operated in studios in Spain and Israel and was seeking to expand to other countries when it closed four years ago.
When Gumucio was arrested two years ago, a prosecutor said he was the living in Cathlamet, Washington, and had been arrested 15 times and had in the past used at least six aliases, three Social Security numbers and claimed three places of birth.
He was eventually freed on $250,000 bail by a magistrate judge who noted that his last previous arrest was in 1992.
In court on Friday, Gumucio acknowledged that he had agreed to pay $2.56 million in restitution, along with interest, to the IRS.
He said he didn’t pay the taxes from 2012 to 2020.
“I apologize for that,” he told Cronan, saying he operated yoga studios in Manhattan’s East Village and elsewhere in the United States during those years.
Under questioning from the judge, Gumucio said yoga teachers were paid in cash, and he didn’t provide them tax forms indicating how much revenue had been taken in.
“I deliberately did not file tax returns to avoid paying taxes,” he said.
He said he was currently living in Colorado, though he did not specify where.
As he left the courthouse, Gumucio kept his head bowed once he realized he was being photographed. He declined to comment.
veryGood! (491)
Related
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Judge schedules sentencing for movie armorer in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin
- Jury begins deliberating manslaughter case against Connecticut trooper who killed man in stolen car
- Lawyer says Epstein plea deal protects Ghislaine Maxwell, asks judge to ditch conviction
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- Judge dismisses suit by Georgia slave descendants over technical errors. Lawyers vow to try again
- Mel B alleges abusive marriage left her with nothing, was forced to move in with her mom
- Nikki Reed Shares Postpartum Hair Shedding Problem After Welcoming Baby No. 2 With Ian Somerhalder
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- Lionel Messi follows up Luis Suárez's tally with goal of his own for Inter Miami
Ranking
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Watch a tortoise in Florida cozy up for a selfie with a camera
- Vermont murder-for-hire case sees third suspect plead guilty
- Love Is Blind's Trevor Sova Sets the Record Straight on Off-Screen Girlfriend Claims
- FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
- Lionel Messi follows up Luis Suárez's tally with goal of his own for Inter Miami
- California Votes to Consider Health and Environment in Future Energy Planning
- SZA Reveals Why She Needed to Remove Her Breast Implants
Recommendation
Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
The Excerpt podcast: Climate change is making fungi a much bigger threat
What is Pi Day? The day combines math and dessert for a sum that comes full circle
3 men face firearms charges after Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting, authorities say
Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
Love Is Blind Season 6 Reunion Is Here: Find Out Where the Couples Stand Now
HIV prevention drugs known as PrEP are highly effective, but many at risk don't know about them
Judge to hear arguments on whether to dismiss Trump’s classified documents prosecution