East Bay entrepreneur Salman Salman has copped to tax evasion after being caught hiding more than $3 million in income earned from his businesses. The guilty plea was entered before United States District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., following charges led by United States Attorney for the Northern District of California Ismail J. Ramsey, reported by the Justice Department.

According to court documents, Salman defrauded the IRS, evading taxes from 2016 to 2019. Pleading guilty to one count, he fudged the numbers for his enterprises, which include The Plug Tattoo & Piercing, Inc., S&S Real Estate Investment Group, and Synergy Investment Group Ohio Inc., leading to an unreported income of approximately $3.4 million.

The Rodeo, Calif., native, aged 47, admitted to significantly underreporting his actual income and claiming inflated and fictitious expenses to minimize his tax burden. Engaging in a questionable accounting dance, the admitted tax cheat awaits September 18 sentencing. If the court throws the book at him, Salman faces up to five years behind bars and could be ordered to cough up a fine of up to $250,000 plus restitution to the IRS for at least $438,247.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Green, who is hitching this case's wagon to Salman's admission of guilt, is prosecuting with the help of Kay Konopaske and Christine Tian from the U.S. Attorney's Office. The plug was ultimately pulled on Salman's tax evasion scheme thanks to the sleuthing by the IRS-Criminal Investigation's Oakland Field Office, led by Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Mosley. Salman signed a plea agreement that pointed to the misconduct supporting all four counts charged, but his plea only acknowledged the evasion of his 2019 taxes.