Gordonsville Market Owner Pleads Guilty to Theft

NASHVILLE - The Special Investigations Section of the Tennessee Department of Revenue conducted the investigation that led to this week’s guilty plea of Joseph Yousef to one count of theft over $1,000, a Class D felony. Yousef, 35, is the owner of Hunter’s Market in Smith County.  Smith County Judge Brady Kane accepted Yousef’s plea and sentenced him to two years supervised probation. Yousef was also ordered to pay $24,522.53 in restitution.

In October 2014, a Smith County Grand Jury indicted Yousef on one count of sales tax evasion and one count of theft.  The indictments charged that Yousef collected sales tax from customers at Hunter’s Market and failed to remit $24,522.53 in sales tax due from October 2011 through December 2012.

“The Department of Revenue is committed to applying Tennessee’s tax laws and policies uniformly to all taxpayers to ensure a level playing field,” Revenue Commissioner Richard Roberts said. “The Department cannot and will not allow people engaged in fraudulent tax activities to have a competitive advantage over honest business people.”

The Department of Revenue is responsible for the administration of state tax laws and motor vehicle title and registration laws and the collection of taxes and fees associated with those laws. The Department collects about 87 percent of total state revenue. During the 2015 fiscal year, it collected $12.6 billion in state taxes and fees and more than $2.4 billion in taxes and fees for local governments.

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