A Corona man has agreed to plead guilty to filing false income tax returns after selling Stan Lee-signed memorabilia and receiving more than $1.2 million in proceeds that he never reported to the IRS, officials said on Thursday, Feb. 27.
Mac Martin Anderson, 59, will enter a plea in downtown Los Angeles at some point to two counts of willfully subscribing to a false tax return, a felony carrying a possible sentence of up to three years in prison for each charge, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to his plea agreement, from 2015 to 2018 Anderson had a relationship with the late Marvel Comics publisher, and sold Marvel-related items bearing Lee’s autograph to various dealers, brokers and fans at comic conventions.
Anderson received payments from buyers typically in cash or checks. At least part of these payments should have been reported on Anderson’s income tax returns.
Anderson admitted to profiting $1.23 million in reportable income from the memorabilia sales, which resulted in him owing the IRS approximately $482,833, according to the plea agreement.
As part of his plea deal, Anderson agreed to pay restitution to the IRS in that amount.
Lee — the man behind Marvel superheroes such as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Black Panther — died on Nov. 12, 2018, at age 95.