Owner of Greensboro Mental Health Services Provider Sentenced to Prison, Ordered to Pay $179,547 for Not Filing Tax Returns for Three Years

GREENSBORO, N.C. - A Guilford County businessman was sentenced to six months in federal prison on January 28, 2020, for failing to file a federal tax return, announced United States Attorney Matthew G.T. Martin for the Middle District of North Carolina.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Willie Lee Cole, Jr., owned and operated “Chris’s Rehablative [sic] Services,” a mental health services provider in Greensboro, North Carolina. From 2013 through 2015, Cole did not file personal tax returns even though he earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in income during that time.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. Magistrate Judge L. Patrick Auld ordered Cole to serve a one-year term of supervised release and pay $179,547 in restitution to the United States.

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 prosecuted the case.

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

###