Mississippi Man Dodged $2M in Tax, Spent $1M Gambling

A man in Mississippi pleaded guilty on Wednesday to having spent more than $1 million gambling while evading $2 million in federal income taxes, an official statement by federal prosecutors read. The case was detailed by Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division and US attorney Baxter Kruger for the Southern District of Mississippi, with the officials explaining the scheme known as “check churning” between 2016 and 2020. Identified as Eric Brian Rosenberg, the man has pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and will be sentenced on December 16, 2026. The maximum penalty for his actions is five years. Rosenberg’s cooperation and willingness to cooperate with authorities are likely to land him in a much better spot overall. Based on the available information, Rosenberg originally attempted to hide income from the Internal Revenue Service by using a scheme identified as “ check churning,” a practice where a person writes out checks allowing them to access a certain amount of money at a later date, whether by depositing the money back into his bank account, withdrawing the money when he needed it, or just using the unspent funds to purchase another cashier’s check. Rosenberg reportedly began to engage in his scheme upon discovering that the IRS was attempting to collect his unpaid income tax. Rosenberg was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation, who were able to unravel the scheme and bring him on charges, leading to a successful guilty plea as per the latest court documents. Rosenberg also opened a shell company in a bid to further obfuscate the source of his money, and ensure that he continues to use check churning to avoid paying income tax. Apart from engaging in the practice, Rosenberg also spent an estimated $1 million in gambling between 2016 and 2021, based on the available court documents.