West Virginia Business Owner Sentenced for Employment Tax Crimes

A West Virginia man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for his willful failure to pay over employment taxes on behalf of his business.

The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: Dean E. Dawson, of Hurricane, owned and operated Real Property Consulting Group LLC (RPC Group), a Hurricane, West Virginia, real estate appraisal business. Dawson was responsible for withholding Social Security, Medicare, and federal income taxes from RPC Group’s employees and paying over those funds to the IRS. The timely payment of these taxes is critical to the functioning of the U.S. government because, for example, they are the primary source of funding for Social Security and Medicare. The federal income taxes that are withheld from employees’ wages also account for a significant portion of all federal income taxes collected each year.

Between 2015 and 2022, Dawson did not pay to the IRS the taxes withheld from his employees’ paychecks. He also used RPC Group’s business accounts to pay for personal expenses, including personal credit cards and his wife’s home mortgage. He also issued checks to his wife from RPC Group even though she was not an employee of the business. In addition, from 2018 to 2023, Dawson did not file personal tax returns or pay income taxes. 

In total, Dawson caused a tax loss to the IRS of about $525,000.

In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers for the Southern District of West Virginia ordered Dawson to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $430,527.56 plus interest in restitution to the United States.

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Rebecca A. Caruso of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Storage for the Southern District of West Virginia prosecuted the case.