2 days ago
Former BK Racing owner pleads guilty to failure to pay payroll taxes in latest legal troubles
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Former NASCAR team owner Ron Devine pleaded guilty Wednesday to failure to pay payroll taxes, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
According to the plea documents and other court records, Devine, 68, was the owner and President of BK Racing, LLC (BK Racing), which operated a NASCAR team and owned two charters. As the owner, Devine was discovered to have exercised control over the team's financial affairs, including authorizing the filing and payment of its trust fund taxes, commonly referred to as payroll taxes.
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Payroll taxes are withheld from employees' gross pay for income tax and to fund Social Security and Medicare. Employers are also required to make contributions to trust fund taxes matching the amounts withheld from their employees' pay, and to file and pay quarterly taxes.
Court records indicate that beginning in 2012, Devine caused BK Racing to fail to account for and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in payroll taxes. Court documents show that, between 2012 and 2017, instead of using the funds held in trust to pay for payroll taxes due, Devine allegedly 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.
Devine, who lives in northern Virginia, was released on bond following his guilty plea. The charge of failure to truthfully account for and pay over trust fund taxes carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date has not been set.
This is just the latest in Devine's financial troubles that were taken court. In April, a federal judge approved a lawsuit from Front Row Motorsports after buying a charter for BK Racing that came with more than $9 million in debt. After Front Row settled with the bank for $2.1 million, the team asked Devine and business partner Michael DiSeveria to pay the balance, plus interest.
They refused at first, thus creating the legal matter.
In January, a federal appeals court upheld an order for Devine and his BK Racing associates to pay a $31 million fine, after being accused of attempting to obstruct and delay the team's bankruptcy proceedings.
BK Racing last competed in the Cup Series in 2018, when they filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caryn Finley and Daniel Ryan of the Office in Charlotte are prosecuting the payroll tax case.
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