Trucking Company Operator Sentenced to Prison For Tax Evasion

CLEVELAND – A trucking company operator from Stark County who hid income from the U.S. government in attempts to not pay taxes has been sentenced to federal prison.

Alice F. Martin, 66, of Louisville, Ohio, was sentenced to 30 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent, after pleading guilty in August to Attempt to Evade and Defeat Income Tax, and Attempt to Evade and Defeat Payment of Tax. She was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment and to pay $1,971,660.86 in restitution. Judge Nugent imposed the sentence Dec. 2.

According to court documents, Martin attempted to evade the payment of taxes, penalties, and interest tied to a trucking company that she owned and operated under the name of Martin Logistics. The tax evasion scheme consisted of a plan to phase out the company after it became burdened with tax debt as a strategy to avoid paying taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

However, Martin intended to continue operating her trucking business through a new company, TSA Transportation. Income that TSA Transportation received was then deposited into a bank account for another business entity that Martin owned and controlled, A.F. Martin. In addition, she placed Martin Logistic’s assets, such as trucks and trailers, under the name of yet another company she established, Martin Global. IRS investigators found that from around 2013 to 2018, Martin directed approximately $18 million in gross receipts from TSA Transportation to be deposited into the bank account of a different company, A.F. Martin. The investigation concluded that she did not report $3.6 million in taxable income and failed to pay approximately $1.2 million in federal taxes due between 2013 and 2018.

IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) conducted the investigation leading to the indictment.

The prosecution in this case was led by Assistant United States Attorney Edward Brydle for the Northern District of Ohio.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.