A 42-year-old Durango man accused of tax evasion involving a roofing business was sentenced this week to three months in prison followed by six months of home confinement, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Ryan Wilkinson also faces three years of supervised release and must pay $228,300 in restitution. Wilkinson pleaded guilty in October 2020, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
State records show Wilkinson is the registered agent for Amcat Construction.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said from January 2015 to December 2017, Wilkinson earned a “substantial” personal income from his roofing company, but did not file federal income tax returns.
Records show Wilkinson hired a bookkeeper to assist with the QuickBooks for his company but refused to provide sufficient records and information for accurate records about his income and expenses.
Investigators also discovered Wilkinson had his company pay the rent on his personal home, make payments for a personal investment and used the company credit card for personal expenses.
“He instructed the bookkeeper to classify these payments as business expenses, despite being told that these personal expenses could not be classified as business expenses,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Wilkinson now has a federal felony conviction on his record.
“Mr. Wilkinson ignored his duty to file federal tax returns to evade paying taxes and is now a convicted felon with a prison term to serve,” special-agent-in-charge Andy Tsui said in a statement.
Wilkinson’s case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.
Steven Nickel, CEO of Amcat Construction since 2018, provided a statement to The Durango Herald saying that Wilkinson hired him to turn Amcat Construction around.
“We have worked over the last three years to reorganize by introducing policies, procedures and proper accounting practices that are GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principals) compliant,” Nickel said. “We have engaged the services of a very capable CPA firm and are moving forward under their direction so as to not repeat the errors of the past.”
Nickel said all of the people from the past have been released from Amcat, and in 2018, a new accounting manager was hired to assist in following proper practices.
“Amcat Construction for the last three years has been operating under these guidelines and will continue to do so moving forward,” he said.
“Ryan has agreed to his restitution with the IRS and will continue to abide by the proper conduct as it relates to business,” Nickel said. “We at Amcat Construction have put these issues behind us and are looking forward to our continued success.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
