Catoosa Man Moore Sentenced in $475K Tax, Fraud Case

DAVID GLENN MOORE, JR., 49, of Catoosa, Oklahoma, is going to federal prison for stealing nearly half a million dollars from the Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce while juking payroll taxes meant for the IRS. Moore was sentenced to 33 months without parole, ordered to serve three years of supervised release, and pay $475,138.06 in restitution after pleading guilty to wire fraud, money laundering, and failure to pay over employment taxes.

The scheme ran from July 1, 2009, to June 12, 2014, while Moore served as Executive Director of the Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce (TACC). Instead of leading the organization, he weaponized his position—diverting approximately $439,660.62 through false pretenses, fabricated expenses, and shell transactions. Every dollar stolen was meant to fund community growth; instead, it lined the pockets of a man entrusted with public trust.

But the theft didn’t stop at outright fraud. Moore also ignored federal tax law, willfully failing to remit $45,556 in payroll taxes for TACC employees over three years—2011, 2012, and 2013. Those unpaid taxes left workers exposed and the IRS shortchanged, compounding the betrayal. By law, employers must withhold and forward these funds. Moore chose not to—making him criminally liable under Title 26, U.S. Code Section 7202.

Federal prosecutors nailed the case using paper trails, bank records, and forensic audits conducted by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigative Division. They were joined by the Tahlequah Police Department, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector. The collaboration peeled back layers of deception, exposing a calculated pattern of financial manipulation carried out through electronic transfers—triggering the wire fraud charges under Title 18, U.S. Code Section 1343.

The money laundering charge stemmed from Moore’s efforts to conceal the origin of the stolen funds, funneling them through personal and business accounts as if they were legitimate revenue. That conduct violated Title 18, U.S. Code Section 1956(a)(1)(A)(i), sealing his fate in federal court. U.S. District Judge James H. Payne, presiding in Muskogee, handed down the sentence with no leniency—reflecting the seriousness of abusing nonprofit leadership for personal gain.

Assistant United States Attorney Chris Wilson prosecuted the case for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. Moore was ordered to report to a federal correctional facility on January 26, 2017, to begin serving his sentence. The case stands as a stark reminder: corruption in community institutions doesn’t just break laws—it breaks trust, and the feds are watching.