An Oakland County man pleaded guilty on Thursday to evading approximately $318,000 in federal income taxes.

Paul Kozowicz, 75, pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion after intentionally failing to report approximately $1.15 million in taxable income to the Internal Revenue Service for nine years, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced in a press release.

Kozowicz, of Walled Lake, was a full-time salaried employee providing accounting and financial services at a Birmingham law firm between 2002 and 2011, according to a plea agreement filed with the court on Thursday.

Kozowicz became a part-time employee at the firm in 2011 after it reorganized and made only 20% of his previous salary.

He became an independent accountant and consulting contractor to replace lost income, authorities said.

Kozowicz formed his own corporation, FACS, Inc., to provide these services and opened a bank account under the corporation name for customers to deposit payments.

He did not declare any of the income he earned under FACS on individual or corporate tax returns between 2011 and 2019. Kozowicz never filed a corporate tax return for FACS. He also did not maintain records for FACS or meet Michigan annual corporate filing requirements, according to the investigators.

Kozowicz used the FACS account money for personal expenses and needs but only declared his reduced law-firm salary and certain taxable social security receipts on personal federal income tax returns, according to the plea document.

He now faces up to five years’ incarceration and will have to pay $318,243 to the IRS after sentencing, according to the release. Kozowicz’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 21.

His attorney, Kimberly Stout, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

“The license to run a business is not a license to avoid paying taxes,” Charles Miller, IRS Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office, Special Agent in Charge, said in the release. “Paul Kozowicz’s blatant fraud, hiding income, and having his shell business pay his purely personal expenses, cheated all Americans, since we all pay our fair share for the government services and protections that we enjoy. CI remains dedicated to holding those accountable that refuse to play by the rules.”

Kozowicz’s plea comes one month after a Macomb County couple that owned home healthcare companies was sentenced to prison for Medicare fraud and tax evasion.

Former Madison District Public Schools president Albert Morrison was also sentenced for receiving more than $561,000 in bribes and evading taxes in November 2023.