Director of Operations of Retail Clothing Business Heads to Federal Prison for Failing to Pay Federal Tax Withholdings

HOUSTON - William John Shoemaker has been ordered to prison following his conviction on one count of willfully failing to truthfully account for and to pay federal tax withholdings to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson along with Lucy Cruz, special agent in charge of IRS - Criminal Investigation (CI). Shoemaker pleaded guilty March 2, 2015.

Today, U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Hoyt ordered Shoemaker to serve #41months in prison and pay $1,830,324.78 in restitution to the IRS.

According to the plea agreement filed in the public record of the case, Shoemaker failed to truthfully account for and to pay over the trust fund portion of the employment taxes owed by AA Concepts  Inc., for the fourth quarter of 2012.

The plea agreement also states that at all times relevant to the case, Shoemaker conducted a retail clothing business through AA Concepts Inc., which operated its retail clothing business under various trade names. Shoemaker held the title of director of operations of AA Concepts and had the duty to truthfully account for and to pay over the federal income taxes and FICA withheld from the wages of the employees of the corporation, according to court records.

According the plea agreement, Shoemaker also willfully failed to pay approximately $2.198 million in federal income tax withholdings and FICA withholdings for 22 quarters, from the third quarter of 2007 through the fourth quarter of 2012. The plea agreement also indicates that Shoemaker agreed that the relevant conduct, the intended tax loss, for purposes of sentencing is between $2.5 million and $7 million.

Shoemaker was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

This case was investigated by IRS-CI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles J. Escher.