Hawaiian surf legend Sunny Garcia last Wednesday was sentenced to three months in federal prison for failing to pay taxes on more than $417,000 in prize money he had won during his career. Sunny was also ordered to spend seven months confined to his Newport Beach home, to perform 80 hours of community service and to pay the taxes.
In 2004 Sunny became surfing's second million-dollar man for prize winnings. Although most of Sunny's money came from endorsements, which he declared, he failed to declare his prize money, which was public information.
The SignOnSanDiego article
Surfing champ couldn't escape tax man shows Sunny is aware of his mistake, its consequences and what he should have done
"I totally mishandled my tax affairs," Garcia wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan. "I knew I was not reporting my prize winnings on the returns, and I accept responsibility."
Internal Revenue Service agents told him about it, but still, he ignored their warnings.
Unlike workers whose employers take out taxes before cutting paychecks, self-employed people get all their earnings and then are expected to cut a check to the IRS quarterly.
"When it came time to paying the taxes, there was not enough money," Garcia said in the letter. "I mistakenly placed other matters as a higher priority. My sole focus was on my surfing and the next competition."
He said he wished that his accountants had imposed more discipline on him.
"I was not acting as a responsible adult," he said.
smoked all the tax money...
used on bail bonds
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