“Devine caused BK Racing to fail to account for and pay over hundreds of thousands of dollars in payroll taxes.”
Federal charges have been filled against former NASCAR team owner Ron Devine. He’s charged with four counts of failure to pay payroll taxes.
The announcement was made by Dena J. King Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Donald Eakins, special agent for the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, Robert DeWitt of the FBI and Tommy D. Coke of the US Postal Inspection Service joined in the announcement.
The 67-year-old was the owner of BK Racing. The NASCAR team ran in the NASCAR Cup Series until 2018.
Just ahead of the 2018 Daytona 500, the team filed for bankruptcy. Later that year, the team was taken over by a trustee with the purpose of selling assets to pay back debt.
Click here to view a detailed list of BK Racing debt amounts owed to various organizations within the NASCAR industry.
Multiple teams bid on the assets, Front Row Motorsports bid $2.08M, winning the majority of assets.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina
Devine had “sole signature authority and control over BK Racing’s bank accounts, directing and authorizing payment of BK Racing’s bills, and authorizing the filing and payment of BK Racing’s trust fund taxes, commonly referred to as payroll taxes.”
:The indictment alleges that, starting in 2012, Devine caused BK Racing to fail to account for and pay over hundreds of thousands of dollars in payroll taxes. For example, according to the indictment, in 2017, Devine allegedly failed to pay over more than $390,000 in payroll taxes due to the IRS.”
“The indictment further alleges that, between 2012 and 2017, instead of using the funds held in trust to pay for payroll taxes due, Devine transferred more than $2 million to other businesses and entities that he owned and controlled and used some of the funds to pay for BK Racing’s expenses such as rent, utilities, and vendor bills.”
Failure to pay payroll tax carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the four counts in the indictment.
Former NASCAR team owner ordered to pay $31M
