On May 15, Paul Butler and Jon Field, both of Dublin, Ohio; and Eric Schilder of Marison pleaded guilty to tax charges related to the Cadillac Ranch, according to a release from the IRS and U.S. Justice Department.
Couchot, who is the president and part owner of an accounting firm in Centerville reportedly told investigators he knew the men used company funds to pay for personal expenses, including cars, car insurance, country club dues, credit card charges and income tax liabilities, according to the release.
Couchot pleaded guilty to two tax charges: aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return for the year 2009 for Field and to preparing a false income tax return for Schilder for the year 2007.
According to court documents, Schilder's return reported $68,000 of income, while company records show Schilder earned more $129,000 that year. Couchot admitted that after the false return was filed, he created a false summary to retain in his records to support the false income reported to the IRS, the release stated.
Couchot faces a up to three years in prison, a $250,000 fine and one year of supervised release for each of the two charges.
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