Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion Over Afghanistan and Guantanamo Internet Businesses

July 22, 2026
By Mintesinot Nigussie

A Florida businessman has pleaded guilty to evading taxes on millions of dollars earned from internet service businesses that provided connectivity to US servicemembers and contractors stationed overseas, the US Department of Justice said. Joseph Stewart, of Miami, admitted that he failed to report about 4.62 million US dollars in income between 2013 and 2018 from his ownership stakes in businesses operating at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Stewart owned 50 percent of a company that sold internet access to American military personnel and contractors at Kandahar Airfield, earning more than 4.5 million US dollars in dividends during the period, according to court documents. He also received income from a separate company in which he held a 50 percent stake that provided internet services to soldiers stationed at Guantanamo Bay. Despite receiving significant business income, Stewart stopped filing timely tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service after 2013, prosecutors said.

The Justice Department said Stewart later submitted a false affidavit to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2016, attaching copies of unfiled federal tax returns while claiming they had already been filed. After receiving IRS letters in 2019, Stewart allegedly provided false information to tax professionals, claiming that more than 3.8 million US dollars in dividends received between 2013 and 2018 were non-taxable loans. He also falsely stated that he did not know other shareholders of the business, according to prosecutors.

The tax returns prepared using those statements underreported Stewart’s income and tax obligations for multiple years. Prosecutors said he filed false returns for 2013 through 2020, except for the 2013 return, which reported approximately 155,720 US dollars in taxes owed. The alleged scheme resulted in a tax loss of about 1.57 million US dollars to the US government, according to the Justice Department.

Stewart pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, along with possible supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal judge will determine the final sentence after considering sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by attorneys from the Justice Department’s Tax Section.

Source: FSX Business News