Owner Of Majestic Seals & Stripes, Inc. Sentenced To Federal Prison For Payroll Tax Fraud

Tampa, Florida - U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Linda Davis to four years in federal prison for willfully failing to pay to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employment taxes that were withheld from employees' paychecks. Davis was also ordered to pay $719,049.62 in restitution. Davis entered a guilty plea on November 9, 2023.

According to court documents, Davis owned and operated a pavement maintenance company, known as Majestic Seals & Stripes, Inc. (Majestic), in Clearwater. As the owner of Majestic, Davis was responsible for withholding employment taxes from the Majestic employees' paychecks and paying the taxes owed. Instead of paying these amounts to the IRS, Davis diverted the funds for her own personal use. Davis also failed to pay to the IRS the employer's portion of the payroll taxes. Specifically, between June 2016 and December 2021, Davis failed to pay $557,249.62 in payroll taxes.

Further, in February 2021, Davis applied for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan on behalf of Majestic. In support of the loan application, Davis submitted a false IRS Form. As a result of the application package, the PPP loan was approved and funded in the amount of $161,800.

"When you work somewhere, you trust that your employer will do the right thing," said Ron Loecker, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CI Tampa Field Office. "For an employer to take advantage of their employees for their own personal gain in such a blatantly criminal way is downright shameful. My hope is that this sentencing will urge others to always do right by their employees."

This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tiffany E. Fields.