Putnam County Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Employment Tax Crimes

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Dean E. Dawson, 65, of Hurricane, pleaded guilty today to one count of willful failure to pay over employment taxes on behalf of his business.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Dawson operated RPC Group LLC, a Hurricane, West Virginia, real estate appraisal business. Dawson was responsible for withholding employment taxes from RPC Group’s employees and paying over those funds to the IRS. Between 2015 and 2022, however, Dawson willfully failed to pay over to the IRS the employment taxes withheld from his employees’ paychecks. He also used the RPC Group’s business accounts to pay for personal expenses, including personal credit cards and his wife’s home mortgage, and issued checks to his wife from RPC Group even though she was not an employee of the business. In addition, from 2018 to 2023, Dawson did not file personal tax returns or pay income taxes. In total, Dawson caused a tax loss to the IRS exceeding $250,000.

Dawson is scheduled to be sentenced on June 23, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Dawson also owes restitution in an amount to be determined by the Court.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston for the Southern District of West Virginia made the announcement.

The Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) is investigating the case.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Trial Attorneys Brian E. Flanagan and Rebecca A. Caruso of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan T. Storage for the Southern District of West Virginia are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-120.

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