Cherry Creek bridal shop owner sentenced to prison for failing to pay more than $1.3m in employment taxes

Date: June 15, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

Denver, CO - A Parker, Colorado, resident and Denver business owner was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in prison for willfully failing to pay over employment taxes on behalf of the bridal shop company she owned and operated for more than a decade.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Donna M. Savoy owned and operated Donna Beth Creations, a bridal studio in the Cherry Creek North neighborhood of Denver. As the owner, Savoy was responsible for withholding Social Security, Medicare and income taxes from her employees' wages, paying those funds over to the IRS and filing quarterly employment tax returns with the IRS.

Savoy admitted that from 2014 through 2024, she withheld these taxes from her employees' wages but failed to pay them over to the IRS. Savoy also failed to file employment tax returns for the entire period. Savoy spent the tax money she withheld from her employees on personal and business expenses, causing a tax loss to the United States exceeding $1.3 million.

Savoy pleaded guilty to one count of willful failure to account for and pay over trust fund taxes.

Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division made the announcement.

"By choosing to enrich herself at the expense of her employees and honest taxpayers, Savoy undermined the integrity of our tax system," said Amanda Prestegard, IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge, Denver Field Office. "Employment tax fraud carries significant consequences, and our special agents remain committed to holding business owners accountable who engage in this type of fraud."

In addition to her prison sentence, Savoy was ordered to pay more than $1.3 million in restitution and a $20,000 fine.

IRS Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Stuart A. Wexler of the Criminal Division's Tax Section prosecuted the case.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division ("Fraud Division"). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.