Aug. 18, 2010

RESTAURANT OWNERS SENTENCED FOR FEDERAL TAX EVASION

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Dewayne Acklin, 46, Kansas City, Mo., and his wife, Lisa Lynch Acklin, 50, Kansas City, Mo., have been sentenced to five years probation and 500 hours of community service. They also were ordered to make restitution in the amount of $106,953.

They pleaded guilty to four counts of filing false tax returns. An indictment filed last year alleged the Acklins’ federal tax returns for 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 filed electronically in Kansas understated gross business receipts from a chain of restaurants they owned in Missouri called Couzins Catfish . The indictment alleged:

In 2006, the Acklins reported gross business receipts of $193,785 when in fact the gross receipts were approximately $1.1 million.
In 2005, the Acklins reported $144,083 in gross receipts when in fact the gross receipts were approximately $940,000.
In 2004, the Acklins reported $215,596 in gross receipts when in fact the receipts were approximately $823,000.
In 2003, the Acklins reported $193,718 in gross receipts when in fact the receipts were approximately $465,000.

The Internal Revenue Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley prosecuted the case.