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Randy Less, 49, of Hopkinton, Iowa, Pleads Guilty to Employment Tax Evasion and Clean Water Act Violation
An Iowa businessman, Randy Less, has pleaded guilty to failing to pay employment taxes and violating the Clean Water Act, announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Kevin W. Techau of the Northern District of Iowa.
Less, a majority owner, general partner, and general manager of Permeate Refining Inc., an ethanol production business in Hopkinton, was charged in an indictment in January 2016 with multiple counts of willfully failing to collect, truthfully account for, and pay federal income, social security, and Medicare taxes withheld from the wages of employees.
Less also pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act for knowingly discharging or causing to be discharged ethanol, a pollutant, from Permeate Refining Inc. into an unnamed tributary of the Maquoketa River without a permit in July 2013.
“Business owners have a responsibility to withhold income taxes for their employees and then remit those taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS),” said Special Agent in Charge Karl Stiften of IRS Criminal Investigation. “The failure to pay over withheld taxes is a serious offense. IRS Criminal Investigation vigorously pursues anyone who collects taxes and fails to timely remit those taxes.”
“Iowa’s waterways are not dumping grounds,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Justin Oesterreich of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) criminal enforcement program in Iowa. “Mr. Less admitted that he knowingly discharged or caused to be discharged production wastewater into a tributary of the Maquoketa River without a permit to do so, putting public health, wildlife, and the environment at risk.”
Less faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for the tax charge and a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the Clean Water Act charge. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Techau thanked special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation, FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and EPA, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Vavricek of the Northern District of Iowa and Trial Attorney Matthew Hoffman of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.
Defendant: Randy Less, 49, of Hopkinton, Iowa.
Criminal Charges: Multiple counts of willfully failing to collect, truthfully account for, and pay federal income, social security, and Medicare taxes withheld from the wages of employees, and violating the Clean Water Act.
City and State: Hopkinton, Iowa.
Date: January 2016 (indictment) and July 2013 (crime date).
Sentence or Outcome: Pleaded guilty, faces up to 8 years in prison and $500,000 in fines.
Dollar Amounts: $250,000 (fine) and up to $500,000 (total fine).
Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Category: White Collar Crime|Environmental Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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