SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - The former state’s attorney for Bennett County has been charged in federal court with evading business taxes.
Kenneth Orrock, 48, was charged with willful failure to collect and pay over tax in 2015 as owner of the Black Hills Patrol security agency, The Rapid City Journal (https://bit.ly/2lrRN6P ) reported. The newspaper said Orrock was expected to plead guilty on Friday.
A plea deal signed by Orrock said he has agreed to pay the IRS more than $280,000 in restitution. The amount includes Black Hills Patrol taxes he failed to pay, the employer’s portion of taxes from 2011 to 2015, and what he taxed employees from the first quarter of 2011 to the third quarter of 2015.
Orrock faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. His attorney declined to comment to the Associated Press on Thursday.
Court documents said Orrock failed to pay more than $17,000 in employees’ taxes, including federal income tax and Social Security, during the last quarter of 2015, even after he collected taxes from his employees.
A statement signed by Orrock said he also didn’t file the Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, which kept the IRS from discovering his lack payments.
“Instead of paying over the taxes, Orrock used at least a portion of the withholdings for his own personal use, including payments for private school tuition,” the statement said.
Shea Jones, special agent in charge of IRS criminal investigations, said in a statement that business owners are responsible for withholding income taxes for their employees and remitting those taxes to the IRS.
“IRS Criminal Investigation vigorously pursues anyone who collects taxes and fails to timely remit those taxes,” Jones said.
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Information from: Rapid City Journal, https://www.rapidcityjournal.com
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