A northern Michigan couple who pleaded guilty to numerous tax-related felonies was sentenced last week and ordered to pay the Michigan Department of Treasury a combined $444,399 in restitution, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced on Monday.
Charles, 61, and Angela Parks, 48 both of Carp Lake pleaded guilty in April to six counts each of Failing to File Income Tax Returns between 2012 and 2017. Angela Parks also pleaded guilty to an additional 56 counts of Failure to File Sales Tax Returns monthly between 2013 and 2018.
The couple was sentenced last Thursday by Eaton County Circuit Court Judge John D. Maurer to the following:
- Angela Parks 90 days in county jail if she is unable to provide proof that she has been making current sales tax payments, five years of probation and was ordered to perform 480 hours of community service and pay $328,127.93 in restitution to the Department of Treasury.
- Charles Parks five years of probation and ordered to perform 480 hours of community service and pay $116,272 to the Department of Treasury.
In 2010, Angela Parks opened Parks Place Café in Conway, Michigan. She never incorporated the business with the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and didn't register the café as a taxpayer with the Department of Treasury until 2016. The café was selected for a Treasury audit in 2017, which revealed Parks had collected more than $73,000 in sales tax since mid-2013 but failed to remit any of it to the Department of Treasury.
In Michigan, 73% of sales tax collected by the state goes directly to the School Aid Fund.
"We count on Michigan businesses and residents to pay their fair share of taxes," Nessel said. "These individuals broke the law and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars that should have gone to fix our roads, improve our schools and ensure our communities remain safe. Today's sentence makes certain those funds are properly restored."
Nessel added she appreciates the thoroughness and continued cooperation with the Department of Treasury which has helped the Department of Attorney General crack down on unscrupulous businesses.
Published: Wed, Sep 18, 2019
