I focus my practice on civil and criminal taxpayer representation. A federal grand jury in Roanoke, Virginia, returned an indictment today, charging a Virginia resident with evading payment of employment taxes and attempting to obstruct the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas T. Cullen for the Western District of Virginia. According to the indictment, Jeffrey Tharpe was the owner and operator of Shearin Construction Inc. (Shearin Construction), an excavating and heavy construction business located in Charlotte County.
From 2002 through 2013, Tharpe allegedly caused payroll taxes to be withheld from Shearin Construction’s employees’ wages, but failed to fully pay them over to the IRS. In an attempt to make it appear that Tharpe had no ownership interest in the company or its funds, Tharpe allegedly placed the company and its assets in his wife’s name.
When the IRS attempted to collect the outstanding payroll taxes from Tharpe’s wife, Tharpe allegedly caused his wife to transfer her interest in real property to him and then encumbered the property with fake debts to place it beyond the IRS’s reach. The indictment alleges that Tharpe owes more than $940,000 in employment taxes, interest, and penalties. If convicted, Tharpe faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for tax evasion, and three years in prison for obstructing the IRS. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
If you or someone you know is having tax issues please feel free to contact me at (203) 285-8545 or by email at egreen@gs-lawfirm.com.
Eric L. Green, Esq.
One Audubon Street, 3rd Floor
New Haven, CT 06511
Ph. (203) 285-8545
Email: egreen@gs-lawfirm.com