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Press Release

Owners of Cadillac Ranch Restaurants and Associated Accountant Sentenced for Tax Charges

For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs

A certified public accountant (CPA) from Dayton, Ohio, was sentenced today to serve 12 months and one day in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. in Columbus, Ohio, on tax charges, announced the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 

Larry E. Couchot, 59, who is the president and part owner of a CPA firm in Centerville, Ohio, was also ordered to pay $40,711 in restitution and a $10,000 fine, and to serve four months of community confinement followed by two months of home confinement following his prison term.  Couchot’s sentencing today follows the sentencing of three of his tax clients, Jon B. Field, of Dublin, Ohio, Paul A. Butler, also of Dublin, and Eric P. Schilder, of Marion, Ohio, who were all associated with Cadillac Ranch restaurants.  

On June 5, 2014, Couchot pleaded guilty to two tax fraud charges and admitted that he assisted in the preparation of false individual income tax returns for his clients Jon B. Field, Butler and Schilder, which caused a tax loss of over $191,000 to the IRS.  Jon B. Field, along with his associates Butler and Schilder and his brother Joel Field, owned and operated the Cadillac Ranch restaurant enterprise.

Joel A. Field also pleaded guilty to tax charges earlier this year, but his tax charges were unrelated to Couchot.  His sentencing is scheduled to take place in November.

According to the documents filed with the court, during 2006 through 2010, Couchot prepared false federal income tax returns for his clients Jon B. Field, Butler and Schilder.  According to the court filing, the three clients used a substantial amount of company funds for personal purposes, which included payments for their personal cars, car insurance, country club dues and their individual income tax liabilities.  In addition, the individuals made substantial charges for personal purposes on credit cards that were paid for with company funds.  Couchot also admitted that he believed that Jon B. Field used company funds to pay for personal expenditures including lawn services, repairs and maintenance to personal residences, granite counter tops, TV and audio systems, and other expenditures that were personal in nature. 

Couchot admitted that he prepared false tax returns for these individuals which failed to report all of the above personal expenditures as income on the individuals’ income tax returns.  Couchot pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return for the year 2009 for Jon B. Field, and to preparing a false income tax return for Schilder for the year 2007 which reported only $68,000 of income despite the fact that the business records of the company showed that Shilder earned over $129,000 in that year.  Couchot admitted that after the false return was filed with the IRS on behalf of Schilder, he created a false summary which he retained in his records to support the false income of $68,000.  The clients were sentenced for their crimes by Judge Sargus earlier this year, and Jon B. Field was sentenced to serve time in jail for his conduct.

These cases were investigated by the IRS-Criminal Investigation and are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Richard M. Rolwing and Senior Litigation Counsel John E. Sullivan of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.  Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division website.  Additional information about tax fraud schemes to watch out for may be found on the IRS-Criminal Investigation website.

Updated October 23, 2014

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Press Release Number: 14-1168