The former chief financial officer of a San Antonio landscaping company admitted today that he cheated the government out of almost $750,000 in payroll taxes.
Twelve days after he was charged, Louis B. Levy Jr. pleaded guilty to willful tax evasion, a crime he committed while he worked for Willcox & Associates, which has been known as Texas Allied Landscape, Sprinkler Irrigation System Co., SISCO, and Brice Enterprises.
As CFO, Levy's duties included paying payroll taxes and preparation of tax returns, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Harris said in federal court.
"He embezzled and converted to his own use money which should have gone to payment of payroll taxes," Harris said, reading from a legal document. "He hid his embezzlement and conversions through a series of book entries and return filings which made it appear that the full amount of taxes were being paid, when in fact they were not."
The one count Levy pleaded to said he filed an Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return with the IRS that said $104,323 had been paid for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2001, and that there was no balance due. In reality, Levy only paid $10,000, leaving $94,323 due.
In his plea deal, Levy acknowledged that his conduct extended beyond that – that he embezzled $607,981 as part of a pattern of activity that left $747,591 in unpaid payroll taxes.
No sentencing date was set, but Levy faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to five years of supervised release. As part of his plea deal, Levy agreed to pay $607,981 in restitution.