Monroe Couple Sentenced for Interstate Theft and Tax Offenses

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2013-11-19

A husband and wife from Monroe were sentenced for their roles in a theft and tax violation scheme, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced.

Judge Marianne O. Battani sentenced John Arthur McCarter, 46, to 57 months in prison, and his wife, Katherine McCarter, 36, to three years of probation.

McQuade was joined in the announcement by Carolyn Weber, IRS-Detroit, Acting Special Agent in Charge, and Paul M. Abbate, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

John McCarter was sentenced for interstate theft of stolen tires and for tax evasion. Katherine McCarter was sentenced for impeding the administration of the IRS laws and presenting false documents to the IRS.

The case arose from John McCarter’s theft of six semi-trailers full of new tires and wheels from the Kace Logistics yard in Romulus, Michigan, in August 2006 and October 2007. Some of the stolen tires and wheels were intended for the Ford F-150 Harley Davidson series. After breaking the locks and hitching the semi-trailers to their own cabs, McCarter and his accomplices transported the semi-trailers to Knox, Pennsylvania, where they sold them to a wholesale tire dealer for approximately $240,000.

In addition to the interstate theft charge, John McCarter was also charged with tax evasion for failing to declare and pay taxes on approximately $759,000 that he obtained during from sales of new tires to the wholesale tire company in Pennsylvania. The IRS calculated that he owed taxes of nearly $225,000 on the unreported income.

Katherine McCarter pleaded guilty to impeding the investigation of IRS-Criminal Investigations agents by attempting to mislead them about the source and purpose of money John McCarter directed her to deposit into her personal bank accounts from the proceeds of the tire sales he had obtained.

“Not only did Mr. McCarter evade payment of taxes on his ill-gotten gains, but his wife lied to the IRS about it when confronted with these facts. Compliance with our tax laws is an important aspect of our civil responsibilities,” stated Carolyn Weber, Acting Special Agent in Charge. The IRS will continue to pursue those who circumvent the United States tax system.”

The investigation of this case was conducted by special agents of the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ross MacKenzie and Ellen Christensen.

Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office

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