Father And Son Charged With Tax Evasion

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a father and son have been indicted by a federal grand jury for tax evasion.

Theodore John Nelson, Jr., a/k/a Ted Nelson, age 66, and Steven A. Nelson, age 43, both of Letcher, South Dakota, face charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, multiple counts of failure to file income tax returns, and impeding the Internal Revenue Service. 

They appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge John E. Simko on July 10, 2013, and pled not guilty to the charges. 

Upon conviction, the maximum penalty for the conspiracy charge is 5 years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine, plus restitution.  The failure to file charges each carry a maximum penalty of 1 year in prison and/or a $10,000 fine, plus restitution.  The impeding charge carries a maximum penalty of 3 years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine.      

The charges are merely accusations and both men are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.     
The investigation is being conducted by the Internal Revenue Service.  Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Haak is prosecuting the case. 

Both men were released on bond pending trial, which has been set for September 10, 2013.