Dive Brief:
- The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Tri State Metal Co. has plead guilty to federal tax and currency transaction charges.
- The company allegedly engaged in cash transactions, resulting in the underreporting of its corporate income, and underpaid payroll taxes. The scrapper was charged with corruptly obstructing and endeavoring to obstruct and impede the IRS, and was also charged with structuring cash transactions in amounts less than $1,000.
- The tax offense carries a maximum penalty of five years probation, in addition to a $500,000 fine, while a structuring offense carries a maximum of five years probation and $1 million fine. Each count carries an alternate maximum fine that totals twice the loss or twice the gain (whichever is greater).
Dive Insight:
The DOJ alleged that Tri State paid employees by check and cash, and cashed checks totaling over $6.41 million paid to fictitious people.
In addition, the scrapper also allegedly filed false corporate income tax returns for 2009, 2010 and 2011, understating its gross receipts or sales by $2.92 million or more. The company will be arraigned in Federal Court at a future date.