Area Political Consultant Pleads Guilty to Tax Crimes

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that William F. Dunbar Sr., 42, of Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty this afternoon before United States District Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge to two counts of tax evasion, one count of making and subscribing a false tax return, and one count of aiding and assisting the presentation of false tax returns.

Dunbar was charged with those offenses by information, arising from his evading the assessment of taxes and filing of six years of false returns for himself and Person #1.

As detailed in court filings and statements, the defendant, a political consultant, has owned and operated Dunbar Public Affairs & Associates ("DPAA"), a political consulting firm in Philadelphia, from 2022 to the present.

For each of the tax years 2019 through 2024, Dunbar annually prepared and filed federal and state individual income tax returns for himself and Person #1, his spouse, through TurboTax, the online tax preparation service. Each of the tax returns contained a written declaration that it was made under the penalties of perjury. However, each of the tax returns contained material falsehoods.

In particular, Dunbar grossly and falsely inflated the gifts to charity on both his and Person #1's returns and grossly and falsely inflated the business expenses on his returns. He did so for the purpose of evading the assessment of taxes as the false charitable gifts and business expenses eliminated, or substantially reduced, the tax liability on both his and Person #1's returns and, in most years, generated tax refunds for them.

The stipulated total tax loss to the United States from the false returns for defendant Dunbar and Person #1 from 2019 through 2024 was between $350,000 and $750,000.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on January 11 and faces a maximum possible term of 16 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $1,000,000 fine. Full restitution also may be ordered.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division ("Fraud Division"). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Louis D. Lappen.