A boat dealership co-owner in Minnesota was recently convicted of engaging in fraudulent activity. Specifically, the court found that he defrauded the state’s Department of Revenue. The conviction comes after the man entered a guilty plea to fraud charges in early September.
According to authorities, the man filed three phony tax returns while overseeing his company’s financial and tax matters. The DOR began to investigate the man back in 2018 when it received information that he was neglecting to report all of his sales tax information. Following the tip, the government department seized financial documents after obtaining search warrants.
Authorities said the information gathered revealed that the man altered Post-it note financial entries so that his employees could share with his bookkeeper lower sales tax totals owed. A tax-related felony in Minnesota carries a sentence of up to five years behind bars for each criminal charge. The man could also face a fine totaling $10,000 per charge. He will likely be sentenced in early December.
When people are accused of committing tax fraud or other types of fraud, they may understandably be worried about how this will impact their futures. For instance, it could do damage to their reputations in addition to leading to the loss of freedom. However, an attorney in Minnesota will look for weaknesses in the prosecution’s charges and push for the most personally beneficial outcome for the defendant in light of the circumstances. The attorney will also make sure that the client’s legal rights are protected every step of the way.