Colleyville, Texas, Man Sentenced To 18 Months In Federal Prison And Fined $30,000 On Income Tax Evasion Conviction

Defendant Norvell Moss a Licensed Pharmacist at Grapevine DrugMart

FORT WORTH, Texas — Norvell Moss was sentenced on Friday by U.S. District Judge John McBryde to 18 months in federal prison and ordered to pay a $30,000 fine and additional restitution of $8,277, to go along with the more than $94,000 he paid prior to sentencing, following his guilty plea in January 2013 to one count of income tax evasion. Judge McBryde ordered Moss to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on June 7, 2013. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to the felony Information filed in the case, Moss is a resident of Colleyville, Texas. The factual resume states that Moss is a licensed pharmacist and works as the head pharmacist for Grapevine Drug Mart, a family-owned and operated pharmacy in Grapevine, Texas.

The stipulated facts included in the factual resume note that Moss received quarterly and weekly payment of income drawn on Grapevine Drug Mart’s business accounts. The quarterly payments, generally received three to five times per year, varied in amounts ranging from $20,000 to $100,000. These payments were made payable to Mossman Management, dba Moss established in Tarrant County, and deposited into Mossman Management’s business bank account. The weekly payments (checks) were much smaller and were made payable to Moss or Mossman Management. From October 2006 through December 2008, Moss cashed the weekly checks.

The factual resume further stipulates that Moss willfully attempted to evade the amount of income tax he owed for tax year 2008 by failing to report approximately $194,150 that he received from Grapevine Drug Mart for that year. As a result of not reporting all of his income received, Moss had an additional tax due and owing of $58,233 for that year.

According to the public court record, two other defendants affiliated with Grapevine Drug Mart were recently convicted in the Northern District for tax-related felony offenses. Larry Lake, also a Colleyville resident and a part-owner of Grapevine Drug Mart, was convicted by a federal jury in Fort Worth in February 2013 on concealment of assets (bankruptcy fraud) and three counts of tax evasion. His son, Travis Lake, who managed Grapevine Drug Mart, pleaded guilty that same month to an indictment charging three counts of fraud and false statements in connection with tax returns he filed for tax years 2006, 2007 and 2008. Both Larry Lake and Travis Lake are awaiting sentencing.

The cases were investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Poe and Tax Division Trial Attorney Robert A. Kemins are in charge of the prosecutions.