Man sentenced in tax fraud

Gene Francis Haas, the owner of Oxnard-based machine tool maker Haas Automation Inc., was sentenced Monday to two years in prison for defrauding the federal govern- ment of $34 million in income taxes.

Haas, 54, pleaded guilty in August to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. He has paid back taxes, penalties and interest of $70 million, more than twice the amount he failed to pay, to resolve the government’s tax claims, U.S. Atty. Thomas O’Brien said in a statement.

Haas in August admitted authorizing Haas Automation to make large overpayments to his NASCAR racing team, among other recipients. The payments were booked as expenses and were returned and deposited in bank accounts, including Haas’ own, that didn’t belong to the company.