Press Release
Lawrenceburg Man Sentenced to 30 Months for Wire and Tax Fraud
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, man, Joe G. Peavler, 53, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison on Monday, by Chief U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves, after previously admitting to committing wire fraud and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return.
In his plea agreement, Peavler admitted that, between 2004 and 2018, he managed a warehouse owned by someone else and, during that time, he devised a plan to rent space in the warehouse to two separate entities, keeping the money for himself without knowledge or authority by the owners. Peavler’s fraud scheme was furthered by interstate wire communications. Peavler also admitted to failing to declare this rent money on his tax returns, for each of the years he received the rent.
Peavler pleaded guilty in January 2020.
Under federal law, Peavler must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence and will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years, following his release. As part of his sentence, Peavler was also ordered to pay an excess of $1.5 million in restitution.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; James Robert Brown, Jr., Special Agent in Charge for the Louisville Division of FBI; and Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and IRS. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Roth and Ken Taylor.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s efforts to identify and prosecute those persons who facilitate elder financial exploitation.
The Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Mission, being carried out through the Kentucky Elder Justice Task Force, is to seek justice for victims of elder financial exploitation. Anyone who knows someone who may be a victim of an elder financial exploitation, is encouraged to contact law enforcement.
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Contact
CONTACT: Gabrielle Dudgeon
PHONE: (859) 685-4887
E-MAIL: gabrielle.dudgeon@usdoj.gov
Updated May 13, 2020
Topics
Elder Justice
Tax
Component