CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A West Virginia ambulance business owner has been sentenced to three years in prison for failing to pay employment taxes and obstructing IRS efforts to collect them.
Christopher Jason Smyth, who operated Stat EMS LLC in Pineville, was found guilty of withholding taxes from employees’ wages but not remitting them to the IRS between 2012 and 2017.
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Instead, he used the funds for personal expenses and transferred money to businesses owned by friends and family.
According to court records, Smyth created Stat EMS after a previous ambulance business he owned accumulated millions in unpaid employment taxes and declared bankruptcy.
To avoid tax liabilities, he registered the new company under a nominee owner but continued running it as before.
The IRS determined that Stat EMS had amassed approximately $3.3 million in unpaid taxes.
When the IRS attempted to collect the unpaid taxes from Smyth personally, he misled investigators by denying the use of personal bank accounts while depositing paychecks into an account under a relative’s name.
He also falsely claimed to have no involvement with other businesses, despite having control over their bank accounts.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Tax Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.
