Skagway assemblyman, restaurateur convicted of federal tax charges

Skagway Fish Co. Company
Skagway Fish Co. in July 2012. (Creative Commons photo by Jimmy Emerson, DVM)

Sentencing is planned for this spring for a Skagway Borough Assembly member and businessman convicted of willful failure to timely file income tax returns.

Dan Henry, 60, operator of the Skagway Fish Co., pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor charges Tuesday morning in U.S. District Court in Juneau. The plea agreement took prosecutors and Henry’s attorney two years to negotiate.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt explained how Henry would refuse to designate any annual income over $1,000 in four years’ worth of financial disclosure reports to the Alaska Public Offices Commission. Yet, on at least 18 occasions between 2008 and 2012, Henry would ask a family member for a cashier’s check or a deposit of $9,000 to $9,900 to evade U.S. currency laws and conceal his income from the Internal Revenue Service. Banks normally report money transfers of $10,000 or more.

Defense and prosecutors recommended an 8- to 24-month prison term, but U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess has the discretion to impose a longer term. Henry will also be ordered to pay $660,064 in restitution to the IRS for unpaid taxes between 2004 and 2012.

Because Henry signed off on the plea agreement in January, prosecutors agree they won’t prosecute him for any other related offenses revealed by their latest investigation. But Henry no longer has the right to appeal the conviction or sentence.

Leaving the courtroom, Henry said he would make a decision about his future with the Skagway Borough Assembly after he returns home and declined further comment. He was first elected in 1998.

Judge Burgess decided against confiscating Henry’s passport after hearing from defense attorney Robert Bundy. He explained that Henry routinely made day trips across the border to Whitehorse in the Yukon for restaurant supplies.

Sentencing is planned for May 18.

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