A popular tattoo artist in Los Angeles has pleaded guilty to a tax crime, federal officials announced Tuesday.
Daniel Joseph Winter, 43, known to fans as Winterstone, has pleaded guilty to one count of subscriptions to a false tax return, according to the US lawyers’ office.
In the winter, I run my tattoo business in Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver, Canada. Stone, who specialised in fine-line tattoos with single needles and catered high-end clients, was once named “Hollywood’s go-to tattoo artist” by the Hollywood Reporter.
With clients, which often include well-known actors, singers, celebrities and more than 606,000 followers on Instagram, prosecutors said his tattoos were expensive and “earned substantial money from his work as an effort related to tattoo artists.”
According to his judicial agreement between 2021 and 2023, Winter made at least $1.7 million from his tattoo business, but he did not declare wages, salary or tip income on his tax returns filed with the IRS.
In 2021, he reported negative taxable income of $3,442, rather than actual taxable income of $501,710. In 2022, he reported taxable income of $1,105, rather than his actual taxable income of $347,159 in 2023.
By underreporting his actual income, Winter reduced the taxes he owed by more than $641,000, officials said.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Winter presented the cashier’s check to court for $641,959 to pay taxes. He also admitted that he knew he needed to report all his income, but deliberately lied about it on his tax return.
He accepted most of his tattoo services payments in cash, making it even more difficult for IRS officials to determine his true income, prosecutors said.
The sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 11th, and could last up to three years in federal prison.
