A Tucson businessman has been sentenced to one month in federal prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion.
Larry Lester Larson, 74, former owner of State Industrial Supply Corp., also was fined $15,000 by U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Márquez.
Before sentencing, Larson made full restitution to the Internal Revenue Service of $322,936, including back taxes of $139,509 plus interest and penalties of $183,427, the IRS said.
The IRA had alleged that during the tax years 2006 through 2009, Larson paid numerous personal expenses, for items including surgery, jewelry, home improvements and airfare, out of his corporation’s business account.
The expenses, totaling about $413,832, were deducted as business expenses on the corporation’s federal income tax returns, the IRS said.
An attorney for Larson, who has since sold the business, had blamed carelessness and slipshod accounting that resulted in some expenses being misreported.
