PHOENIX — The operator of a Phoenix auto dealership is facing allegations of scheming to avoid paying $100,000 in state and local sales tax.
The Arizona Attorney General's Office announced Monday a grand jury indictment of 19 counts against Jalisco Auto Sales and owner Maria Gutierrez.
The company and Gutierrez face one count each of fraudulent schemes and artifices and theft and 17 counts of filing false returns.
According to the indictment, the dealership underreported the number of cars it sold between January 2015 and July 2016 in order to falsify sales tax returns.
The business also did not submit sales tax collected from some customers to the state Department of Revenue.
A message left at a phone number listed on the car dealership's website was not immediately returned.
