Former Owner of Oil Field Construction Business Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

OKLAHOMA CITY – MICKEY ALVIN YOUNG has pleaded guilty to evading personal federal income taxes for the 2013 tax year, announced U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing.

A federal grand jury indicted Young on December 4, 2018, on two counts of tax evasion.  According to the indictment, Young operated Mickey Young Construction, a sole proprietorship that built concrete pits to hold millings at oil and gas well drilling sites.  Evidence in the case showed that the business had gross receipts of more than $9 million in 2012 and more than $6 million in 2013.  Young’s income from his business was to be reported on his personal federal income tax return.  He was charged with under-reporting his income in both 2012 and 2013 by treating money that he used for personal purposes as deductible business expenses of Mickey Young Construction.

After a jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on either count in July 2019, U.S. District Judge Robin J. Cauthron declared a mistrial and set the case for re-trial.

This morning, Young pleaded guilty to tax evasion for the 2013 tax year.  The government will dismiss the charge for 2012 at the time of sentencing, which has been set on April 30, 2020.

Tax evasion carries a potential penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.  The parties have agreed, however, that Young should be sentenced to a maximum of eight months in prison.  Young’s plea agreement also requires him to pay restitution to the IRS.  The parties have agreed that the tax loss to the United States is more than $550,000.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigations, with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott E. Williams and Amanda Green are prosecuting the case.

Reference is made to public filings for more information.