Press Release
LAKE MARY COMPANY OWNER INDICTED ON FEDERAL PAYROLL TAX EVASION SCHEME
April 14, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Michael E. Yasofsky, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (“IRS”), announced that defendant Leroy Edward Felt, Jr., of Lake Mary, Florida has been indicted by a federal grand jury in West Palm Beach, Florida in connection with a long-running federal payroll tax evasion scheme. Specifically, Felt was charged with one count of conspiring to obstruct the lawful functions of the Internal Revenue Service, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, and two counts of causing false currency transaction reports, (“CTRs”), in violation of Title 31, United States Code, Section 5324. If convicted, Felt faces five years on the obstruction count, and ten years each on the false CTR counts. Felt is on bond pending trial of the case.
According to the charges, Case No. 08-80021-Cr-Hurley, defendant Felt owned Woody’s Construction, Inc. The indictment alleges that between 1997 through 2003, Felt fraudulently evaded the payment of federal payroll taxes on wages paid to the employees of Woody’s Construction. Felt allegedly concealed wages paid to Woody's employees by issuing corporate checks to various individuals and/or entities for fictitious expenses. The checks would be cashed and returned to Felt or Woody’s to use in paying cash wages to employees without withholding taxes.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the IRS. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Carlton.
Attachments:
Indictment (PDF)
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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