A multimillionaire yoga entrepreneur has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit tax evasion and must pay more than $2.5 million to the Internal Revenue Service.
In 2006, Greg Gumucio, 63, founded Yoga to the People, a donation-based yoga studio in Manhattan that quickly turned into an organization stretching from New York to California.
Between 2010 and 2020, Yoga to the People generated more than $20 million, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The organization closed in 2020, citing COVID-19 as a factor.
According to the new release from the Southern District of New York, where Gumucio made his guilty plea, the entrepreneur earned $3.5 million between 2012 and 2020 via classes and lucrative teacher-training courses. However, he did not file a personal tax return, though he owed the IRS more than $1 million.
As part of his guilty plea, Gumucio has already agreed to pay at least $2,560,300.93 in restitution to the IRS. After pleading guilty, he faces up to five years in prison, subject to the discretion of the judge.
Newsweek has contacted the IRS via email and the Southern District of New York via phone for comment.
According to the Southern District of New York, Gumucio engaged in practices that enabled tax evasion—such as accepting payments for classes in cash and paying teachers in cash. The payments were collected in tissue boxes, the news release said.
The teachers were also forbidden from counting the cash paid by students, the release continued. The cash was then transported from the studios to Gumucio’s Manhattan apartment. Yoga to the People employees in charge of the cash transportation then engaged in what the court referred to as “stacking parties,” where they stacked and counted the cash at the apartment.
Many employees worked for free, the release said—teaching unpaid classes, cleaning studios and participating in the “stacking parties.”
Gumucio never maintained a headquarters for his company, and he did not keep corporate records.
Gumucio’s co-defendants in this case, Michael Anderson and Haven Soliman, are scheduled to face trial on January 13, 2025.
According to The New York Times, Anderson was a co-owner and the chief financial officer of Yoga to the People, while Soliman was a co-owner, the chief communications officer and the director of education.
When contacted for comment, Aaron Mysliwiec, Anderson’s lawyer, told Newsweek, “I do not have any comments at this time.”
In 2020, the Instagram account @yttpshadowwork and a report in the Cut detailed allegations made against Yoga to the People. The allegations did not mention financial fraud but focused on alleged racial discrimination, harassment and bullying by the company.
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