Former Forsyth County Commissioner Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud

A former Forsyth County Commissioner pleaded guilty today to filing false tax returns and failing to file a tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Matthew G.T. Martin for the Middle District of North Carolina.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Everette Witherspoon Jr., was a managing member of “Chris’s Rehablative [sic] Services” (CRS), a mental health services provider, in Greensboro, North Carolina. Witherspoon also co-owned and operated Quick Taxes LLC, and Fast Tax Inc., tax return preparation businesses in Greensboro and Winston-Salem, respectively. For 2013 through 2015, Witherspoon filed false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that failed to report his county commissioner wages and underreported income he received from CRS. Witherspoon also failed to file a tax return for 2012.   

U.S. District Judge Thomas D. Schroeder scheduled sentencing for May 26, 2020. At sentencing, Witherspoon faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison for filing a false tax return and one year in prison for failing to file a tax return. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Witherspoon’s partner at CRS and Quick Taxes, Willie Lee Cole Jr., was sentenced in January 2020 to six months’ imprisonment for failing to file his tax returns.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Martin commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Lauren Castaldi of the Tax Division and Criminal Division Chief Clifton T. Barrett of the Middle District of North Carolina, who are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the Division’s website.