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A Charlotte business owner was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison after authorities said he launched a "sophisticated scheme" to avoid paying about $1.52 million in taxes.
Ricky Dean Hardee, 48, pleaded guilty last June to tax evasion. He has repaid the back taxes to the federal Internal Revenue Service, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Hardee also was sentenced this week to three years of supervised release after he leaves prison.
According to authorities, Hardee failed to file income tax returns from 2002 to 2007 for a masonry contracting business he operated in Charlotte. Hardee earned $4.2 million in gross receipts during the time.
But authorities said Hardee tried to hide money and other assets from the IRS by using nominee entities, sham trusts and multiple bank accounts in the United States and Panama.
"The defendant went to extraordinary lengths to evade over $1.5 million in taxes and to avoid paying his fair share," Anne Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina said in a statement. "In the end, his criminal conduct earned him a federal prison sentence."
