WJR radio host addresses tax debt
The state and IRS claim WJR-AM (760) financial talk show host Terry Sawchuk owes more than $196,000 in delinquent taxes.
The 40-year-old Birmingham resident, who is not related to the late, great Detroit Red Wings goalie Terry Sawchuk, is the founder and chairman of Troy-based financial advisory firm Sawchuk & Langenstein Wealth Strategies. He also dishes financial advice on his show, "Wealth Strategies," at 11 a.m. Sundays on WJR.
What's owed:
- The IRS filed a $76,744 lien against Sawchuk and his wife on April 22 in the Oakland County Register of Deeds office.
- The IRS filed a $98,171 lien against the couple on Jan. 16 in Oakland County.
- The state of Michigan filed a $21,760 lien against Terry Sawchuk on May 28, 2008, in Oakland County.
Their side:
Sawchuk said he has paid off the $21,760 state lien and owes less than $100,000 on the federal tax liens. The balance should be paid off in a few weeks.
He attributed the debt to a cash-flow problem after buying a $1.7 million home in Birmingham just before the market tanked in 2007.
Problem was, he still owed a home in Oxford that he had difficulty selling and the two mortgages devoured his income.
Yet he refused to walk away from the Oxford home and saddle fellow credit union members -- government employees such as police officers and firefighters -- with the loss, he said.
When Sawchuk finally sold the Oxford place in December, he said he lost about $400,000.
"It wiped me out and left me with not much cash," he said.
Compounding the problem, he was unable to tap money tied up in a deferred-compensation plan.
"The reason this has dragged out so long is I was working with the IRS in an effort to try to gain access to the deferred-compensation plan," Sawchuk said. "I've got the money in the account, but I don't have access to it."
The tax debt does not reflect on his ability to manage clients' money or give sound financial advice, he said.
"It doesn't effect what I do," he said. "If you follow the radio show, I've given great financial advice. I don't want to be lumped in with Bernie Madoff."
