Davidson County Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Theft

NASHVILLE - The Special Investigations Section of the Tennessee Department of Revenue conducted the investigation that led to Wednesday’s guilty plea of Masoud Zand, 51, to one count of theft over $10,000, a Class C felony. Zand is the owner of Quality Cars in Davidson County.  Davidson County Judge Mark Fishburn accepted Zand’s plea and sentenced him to five years supervised probation. Zand was also ordered to pay restitution of $60,000.

In August 2015, a Davidson County Grand Jury indicted Zand on 10 Class E felony counts of sales tax evasion and one Class B felony count of theft of property over $60,000. The indictments charged that from January 2011 through June 2013, Zand failed to remit $87,488.61 in collected sales tax from customers at Quality Cars. 

“The Department of Revenue promotes voluntary taxpayer compliance by educating taxpayers, aggressively pursuing criminal sanctions and demanding accountability when taxpayers engage in fraudulent activity," Revenue Commissioner Richard Roberts said. "This conviction underscores the Department's ongoing efforts to enforce Tennessee's tax laws."

The Department pursued this criminal case in cooperation with District Attorney Glenn Funk’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 and the collection of taxes and fees associated with those laws. The Department collects about 87 percent of total state revenue. During the 2015 fiscal year, it collected $12.6 billion in state taxes and fees and more than $2.4 billion in taxes and fees for local governments. To learn more about the Department, visit www.tn.gov/revenue.

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