Wilson County Business Owner Enters Guilty Plea

Monday, December 07, 2009 | 08:03am
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Revenue’s Special Investigations Section conducted the investigation that led to today’s guilty plea by Hemantkumar Padhiyar, owner of Sam’s Liquors & Wines, located at 1027B West Main Street in Lebanon, Tenn.
 
Padhiyar entered a guilty plea to one Class C felony count of Theft of Property Over $10,000 and one Class E felony count of Sales Tax Evasion. Padhiyar was sentenced to three years in the state penitentiary for the theft charge and one year in the state penitentiary for the tax evasion charge. Both sentences are to run concurrently with all time suspended to probation. Padhiyar’s plea acknowledges he collected but did not remit $44,032.29 in state sales tax from Jan. 2003 to Dec. 2004, Feb. 2005 through Dec. 2005, and Feb. 2006 through June 2006. As part of the plea agreement, Padhiyar was required to make restitution of the tax to the State.
 
“The majority of businesses pay appropriate taxes,” said Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr. “This case serves as a warning to others who think they can get away with tax fraud in Tennessee. We will continue to pursue criminal activity and prosecute tax evaders to maintain fairness in our tax structure for Tennesseans.”
 
This case was pursued criminally by the department in cooperation with the District Attorney General Tom P. Thompson’s Office. Citizens who suspect violations of Tennessee's revenue laws should call the toll-free tax fraud hot line at (800) FRAUDTX (372-8389).
 
The Department of Revenue is responsible for the administration of state tax laws and motor vehicle title and registration laws established by the legislature and the collection of taxes and fees associated with those laws. The Department of Revenue collects approximately 92 percent of total state tax revenue. During the 2008-2009 fiscal year, the department collected $10.2 billion in state taxes and fees. In addition to collecting state taxes, $1.9 billion of local sales tax was collected by the department for local governments during the 2008-2009 fiscal year. Besides collecting taxes, the department enforces the revenue laws fairly and impartially in an effort to encourage voluntary taxpayer compliance. The department also apportions revenue collections for distribution to the various state funds and local units of government. To learn more about the department, log on to www.TN.gov/revenue.
 
 
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