Knox County Business Man Arrested on Sales Tax Evasion and Theft Charges

Knoxville, Tenn. - The Special Investigations Section of the Tennessee Department of Revenue conducted the investigation that led to the indictment and arrest of Vincent Reed Jones, age 54, of Knoxville. On June 6, 2013, Jones was arrested by Special Agents of the Tennessee Department of Revenue at the business, Best Deals Auto Sales, located at 1818 Middlebrook Pike, Knoxville, TN. Bond was set at $5,000.

On June 4, 2013, the Knox County Grand Jury indicted Jones on 11 Class E felony counts of sales tax evasion in violation of Tenn. Code Ann. Section 67-1-1440(g) and one Class C felony of Theft in violation of Tenn. Code Ann. Sections 39-14-103. The indictments charge that Jones willfully attempted to evade $17,562.60 in sales tax due the State of Tennessee during the period January 2008 through November 2008.

"When sales tax is collected from the public and not remitted, it is a breach of the public trust and a crime," said Revenue Commissioner Richard H. Roberts. "The Department of Revenue will aggressively pursue criminal sanctions and demands accountability for such actions."

If convicted, Jones could be sentenced up to a maximum of two years in the state penitentiary and fined $3,000 for each count of sales tax evasion and a maximum of six years in the state penitentiary and fined up to $10,000 for the 1 count of theft.

Prosecution of this criminal case was pursued by the department in cooperation with District Attorney General Randy Nichols' office. Citizens who suspect violations of Tennessee's revenue laws should call the toll-free tax fraud hot line at (800) FRAUDTX (372-8389).

In addition to collecting state taxes, $2.0 billion of local sales and business taxes were collected by the department for local governments during the 2012 fiscal year. Besides collecting taxes, the department enforces the revenue laws fairly and impartially in an effort to encourage voluntary taxpayer compliance. The department also apportions revenue collections for distribution to the various state funds and local units of government. To learn more about the department, log on to www.TN.gov/revenue.

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