CLEVELAND — An Ohio trucking company owner has been indicted for failing to pay the federal government more than $1 million in taxes.
On Tuesday, May 7, a federal grand jury returned the seven-count indictment that accuses Alice F. Martin, 59, of Louisville, Ohio, of attempting to evade the assessment of income taxes from 2013 through 2018.
Martin is also accused of attempting to evade the payment of previous taxes, penalties and interest from 2011 through 2013 — all tied to Martin Logistics, a trucking company which she owned and operated, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
The government says she received more than $3.6 million in unreported taxable income and owes $1.2 million in taxes, which were due between 2013 and 2018.
According to the indictment, Martin planned to phase out Martin Logistics after it became burdened with tax debt in order to make herself, and Martin Logistics, uncollectable to the Internal Revenue Service.
Martin directed one of her employees to open a new company, TSA Transportation, which would serve as Martin’s nominee trucking business.
Beginning January 2013, contracts for trucking services were primarily bid under TSA Transportation’s name, but the income TSA Transportation received was directly deposited into a bank account for another entity that Martin owned and controlled, A.F. Martin.
In addition, Martin placed Martin Logistics’ assets, including trucks and trailers, into the name of yet another Martin-owned company, Martin Global, according to the indictment.
From around 2013 to 2018, Martin directed approximately $18 million in gross receipts associated with TSA Transportation contracts to be deposited into the A.F. Martin banking account.
Despite this, Martin regularly failed to file individual and corporate tax returns related to her trucking entities or and failed to pay the taxes on her income, the indictment states.
Martin also made several misrepresentations to the IRS related to the finances of Martin Logistics.
After her fraudulent scheme was discovered, Martin caused several more misrepresentations to be made to the IRS related to the filing status of her income tax returns.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
