The owner of a Bozeman, Montana-based construction business has plead guilty to underreporting his income to avoid paying accurate taxes, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Brandon Robert Wilson, the owner and operator of Shedhorn Construction Inc., admitted to two counts of tax evasion on Aug. 31 after an IRS Criminal Investigation determined he had under-reported his income and ultimately avoided paying more than $41,000 in taxes in 2014 and 2015.
As reported by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, IRS investigators found Wilson claimed that the business made $193,528 in 2015, but that it actually made $259,133. In 2014, Wilson claimed Shedhorn made $179,101 in total revenue not including costs, but investigators found that the company actually made $331,350, well over $100,000 more than the amount claimed.
Investigators determined that Wilson owes more than $41,000 for the two underreported years. The DOJ news release said that Wilson indicated he would contest that amount.
For each of the two counts, Wilson faces up to $100,000 in fines, up to five years in prison and up to three years of supervised release.
Wilson sometimes received cash in business transactions and paid $24,000 in cash and $26,000 from a business-affiliated account toward a loan for a boat, according to court documents filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karla E. Painter, who is prosecuting the case.
Wilson is the sole agent of Shedhorn Construction, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s Business Entity Search. It was registered with the state as a business in 2005. Shedhorn’s social media states it offers siding, roofing, interior finishes and framing. Court documents say it also provides services like snow removal.
Federal agents began the investigation after receiving information that Wilson was claiming personal expenses as business deductions and was writing his name on invoices sent to the company from clients so that payments meant for the company would go directly to him instead, reports the Daily Chronicle.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided over the hearing on Aug. 31 and set sentencing hearing for Dec. 21 before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen.