A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of Paul Richard Arceneaux, who was sentenced in 2009 to 46 months in prison for failing to file personal tax returns.

Arceneaux, who lived in Louisiana, was ordered to pay restitution of $176,000 and was placed on three years of supervised release.

Prosecutors say Arceneaux, formerly of Long Beach, filed false tax returns or amended tax returns for tax years 1998 through 2002 on which he falsely claimed he earned no income. Arceneaux also failed to file tax returns for tax years 2003 to 2006.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this past week rejected Arceneaux’s claims that he had determined that taxes were voluntary.

The 5th Circuit said Arceneaux knew he had to pay taxes and intentionally stopped doing so.