Utah County businessman on the hook

A Utah County busnessman must pay nearly a quarter of a million dollars to the State Tax Commission if he is to avoid time behind prison bars.

Stephen Zimmerman, 58, was sentenced in 3rd District Court after pleading guilty to two third-degree felonies.

Judge Randall Skancy sentenced Zimmerman to serve up to five years in prison. That sentence will be suspended if he pays $241,000 to the State and completes other terms of his probation.

As owner of Professional Global Marketing Data Services, Zimmerman kept payroll taxes owed by his familiy and employees between 2005 and 2009. He then submitted false W-2 forms to the Tax Commission claiming the taxes had been paid to the State.

This is straight-forward theft of payroll taxes. As an employer he collected the taxes owed to the State, pocketed them, and then falsified tax records.Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said, "Plain and simple this is theft against every taxpayer in Utah. My hat goes off to the prosecutors and investigators who work so vigilantly to stop tax fraud."

The Tax Commission's Criminal Investigation Unit vigorously investigates these type of cases and the A.G.'s office prosecutes the criminals.