Richmond tax evasion ‘educator’ faces jail time and hefty fines

A man from Richmond posing as a self-styled “educator” who taught people ways around paying taxes has been sentenced to 30 months in jail, and over $120,000 in fines – or the total amount of taxes evaded, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) said in a news release.

Eric Ho was sentenced last Thursday, Dec. 1, in the Provincial Court of B.C.

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From 2002 to 2010, Ho ran a “fraudulent scheme” through a business called Paradigm Education Group, where he counselled people across Canada on how to evade taxes based on what he refers to as a “Paradigm theory.”

The CRA explains that this theory is based on “a faulty premise that if an individual declares themselves as a natural person they do not become a taxpayer under the Income Tax Act.”

Ho earned his income through Paradigm DVDs, CDs, and books based on this false theory.

A CRA investigation revealed that Ho failed to report his taxable income of $582,641 for four years from 2004, and as a result evaded $122,367 in taxes payable.

Tax evaders can be subject to fines between 50% and 200% of the tax evaded, and a jail term of up to five years for tax evasion, and up to 14 years for tax fraud.

The CRA revealed that between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2022, there were 15 convictions related to “tax protesters,” leading to close to $2 Million in court-imposed fines, and almost 30 years of jail time.