The owner of an excavating company in Richmond is facing federal tax evasion charges.
Craig Cowles, 51, pleaded not guilty Thursday in federal court in Burlington to several tax-related charges.
The charges against Cowles include five counts of tax evasion and 14 counts of structuring bank transactions to avoid currency reporting requirements, according to a release Thursday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the case.
Cowles was released on conditions following his arraignment. Attorney Tristram Coffin, who is representing Cowles, declined comment when reached Thursday afternoon.
According to federal prosecutors, Cowles owns Cowles Excavating in Richmond and between 2012 and 2017 generated about $2.8 million in revenue for that and other businesses he operated.
During that period, according to prosecutors, Cowles filed no tax returns with the Internal Revenue Services and paid no taxes even though he made hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit.
“As a result of his tax evasion,” the indictment brought against him stated, “Cowles avoided paying to the IRS, between 2012 and 2017, approximately $260,000 in income taxes that were due and owing.”
Each tax evasion charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $100,000 in fines. Each structuring charge also carries the same five-year maximum jail term, but the fine for each of those offenses is higher, at $250,000.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Richmond excavating company owner denies tax evasion charges.