Tennessee Arrests John P. Sherrod for Huge Tax Evasion Charges

According to the Tennessee.gov News Center, John P. Sherrod has finally surrendered himself to police for severe tax evasion charges. He turned himself over to the Fayette County Sheriff's Department after his crimes were discovered by the Special Investigations Section of the Department of Revenue.

Sherrod was officially indicted on November 26, 2007 by a Fayette County Grand Jury. He was officially charged with two Class E felony counts of Sales Tax Evasion in violation of Tennessee Code Ann. 67-1-1440(g).

It all started when Sherrod filed false and illegal documents to the County Clerk's office. The taxes did not include his purchase of a brand new boat and truck. Due to this, he failed to pay a total of $2,615.95 of sales tax that was to be paid to the state of Tennessee at the time of the purchases.

Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr said of the Sherrod case, "The Department of Revenue promotes voluntary taxpayer compliance by educating taxpayers, aggressively pursuing criminal sanctions and demanding accountability when taxpayers engage in fraudulent activity. This investigation underscores our department's ongoing efforts to enforce Tennessee's tax laws."

The charges against Sherrod are extremely heavy. If he is convicted on both felony counts, he could face up to two years behind bars. Additionally, he could be fined a total of $3,000 for each of the counts. Even more money will be given to the state in the form of penalties and interest.

Currently, the District Attorney General Michael Dunavant and his Office are handling the Sherrod tax evasion case. District Attorney General Dunavant has handled numerous tax evasion cases, although he does not handle them all. It generally depends on where the case occurred and how severe the charges are.

The state of Tennessee is encouraging residents as well as those outside of the state to report all suspected cases of tax evasion or tax dodging. The number to report tax fraud in Tennessee is 1 (800)-FRAUDTX. This numer is toll free as well. All information reported in to this number will be regarded as confidential or anoymous.

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