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Press Release

Owner of Tulsa Software Company Sentenced to Prison for Employment Tax Fraud

For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs
Did Not Pay IRS More than $1 Million in Withholdings and Payroll Taxes Due

A computer software development company owner was sentenced to 24 months in prison today for failing to account for and pay over employment taxes withheld from his employees’ wages, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney R. Trent Shores for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

According to documents and information provided to the Court, as the owner and operator of Tulsa-based Zealcon Corporation, Earenest J. Grayson Jr. was responsible for withholding, and paying over to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) payroll taxes on the wages paid to Zealcon employees. For the period January 2014 through June of 2016, Grayson caused a tax loss of approximately $1 million by intentionally not paying to the IRS income and social security taxes withheld from Zealcon employees’ wages and the employer portion of social security taxes due from Zealcon on those wages.

In addition to prison, Grayson was ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $904,091, and to serve three years of supervised release.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Shores thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Assistant Chief Andrew Kameros and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles McLoughlin and Victor Regal, who are prosecuting the case.

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

Updated October 29, 2019

Topics
Financial Fraud
Tax
Press Release Number: 19-1162