Manager Of Family-Owned And Operated Grapevine Drug Mart Pleads Guilty To Federal Indictment

Defendant’s Father, Larry Lake, Was Convicted at Trial Last Week for Concealing Assets and Tax Evasion

FORT WORTH, Texas — On the day before his trial was to begin in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, Travis Keith Lake appeared before U.S. District Judge John McBryde and pleaded guilty to an indictment charging three counts of fraud and false statements in connection with tax returns he filed for tax years 2006, 2007 and 2008, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Lake faces a maximum statutory penalty of three years in federal prison and a $100,000 fine on each of the three counts; restitution could also be ordered. He will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for May 31, 2013.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, Travis Lake manages Grapevine Drug Mart, a family owned and operated pharmacy in Grapevine, Texas. According to an order setting conditions for his release, Travis Lake is a resident of Colleyville, Texas.

Travis Lake’s father, Larry Lake, was convicted last week by a federal jury in Fort Worth on one count of concealment of assets (bankruptcy fraud) and three counts of tax evasion. According to the public court record, Larry Lake, also a Colleyville resident, owns and operates several businesses including VIP Finance of Texas, an auto title loan business with branches throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area; Cash Auto Sales, which handles the auto club memberships for VIP Finance; and is a part owner of Grapevine Drug Mart. Following his conviction, Larry Lake was remanded into custody pending sentencing, which is also set for May 31, 2013, before Judge McBryde. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.

According to the factual resume filed in Travis Lake’s case, between 2006 through 2008, he received quarterly and weekly payments of income drawn on Grapevine Drug Mart’s business bank accounts. The quarterly payments were generally received three to five times per year and varied in amounts ranging from $25,000 to $100,000. Each quarterly payment was made payable to Certified Tech Services, a dba that Lake established, and deposited into Certified Tech Services’ business bank account. The weekly payments, in the form of checks, were much smaller and were made payable to Travis Lake or his wife, and deposited into personal accounts Travis Lake controlled.

The factual resume states that Lake timely filed his federal income tax returns for 2006, 2007 and 2008, but willfully omitted income of approximately $77,070 for 2006; $82,540 for 2007; and $54,000 for 2008, all of which he received from Grapevine Drug Mart.

In related cases, two pharmacists at Grapevine Drug Mart, have also pleaded guilty to tax evasion, according to factual resumes filed in those cases. Norvell Moss admitted that he failed to report approximately $194,150 in income he received from Grapevine Drug Mart for tax year 2008, and as a result of not reporting all of his income, Norvell Moss had an additional tax due and owing of $58,233 for that year. Joseph Moss admitted that he failed to report approximately $159,450 in income he received from Grapevine Drug Mart for tax year 2008, and as a result of not reporting all of his income, Joseph Moss had an additional tax due and owing of $58,554 for that year. Norvell Moss is to be sentenced on May 10, 2013, and Joseph Moss is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24, 2013. They are both residents of Fort Worth, according to orders filed setting conditions for their release.

The cases were investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Poe and Tax Division Trial Attorney Robert A. Kemins are in charge of the prosecutions.