Fasteners, Inc. Executive Tries to Screw the IRS and Gets Nailed

William Keith Jones, of Washington State, pled guilty to four counts of tax evasion as part of a plea agreement.

Jones, a former chief executive officer, and general manager of Fasteners, Inc. admitted in court to filing fraudulent tax returns from 2012 to 2015; failing to pay nearly $74,000 of taxes owed on unreported income.  Although Jones filed returns which included his salary from Fasteners, Inc., they did not include company funds that Jones used for personal expenses, including his children’s tuition at two universities, credit card bills and landscaping expenses at his personal residence. Jones admitted to taking the funds which at first he used as a “tax dodge”, and “it kind of snowballed.”

As part of the plea agreement, the federal government dismissed the case against Jones for wire fraud.  He did agree to pay restitution up to the amount of $310,450.  The final amount will be determined by the court at sentencing, which could also include up to five years in prison for each count of tax evasion, three years supervised release, and additional monetary fines.