A West Virginia man has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for failing to pay employment taxes and obstructing the IRS’s efforts to collect those taxes.
Christopher Jason Smyth, the operator of Stat EMS LLC, an ambulance service in Pineville, was sentenced yesterday for his years-long scheme to evade paying employment taxes.
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According to court documents, Smyth failed to pay over to the IRS the Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes withheld from his employees’ wages between 2012 and 2017. Instead, he used the funds for personal expenses and transferred money to businesses owned by friends and family. The total amount of unpaid taxes accrued by Stat EMS reached approximately $3.3 million.
Smyth’s deceptive practices didn’t stop there. When confronted by an IRS revenue officer, he lied about his personal bank accounts and involvement in other businesses to obstruct the collection of his tax debts.
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“Mr. Smyth’s actions not only defrauded the government of millions of dollars in tax revenue but also violated the trust of his employees and the public,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston for the Southern District of West Virginia. “This sentence holds him accountable for his criminal conduct and sends a clear message that tax evasion and obstruction will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation. The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division and the Southern District of West Virginia.
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