Former President of Oklahoma Steel Pole Manufacturer Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion

An Oklahoma man was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison for evading over $1 million in income taxes.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2014 to 2019, Phillip Barry Albert was President of Pelco Structural LLC, a steel pole manufacturing company located in Claremone, Oklahoma. During that period, Albert directed Pelco’s outside payroll service company to pay him over $2.6 million of Pelco’s funds, which should have been treated as income to him. Albert, however, instructed that the payroll company falsely characterize the payments as reimbursements rather than income, so that the payroll company would not withhold federal income taxes or report the payments as wages on Albert’s Forms W-2. Albert then did not report the payments on his income tax returns for those years.

Albert caused a tax loss to the IRS of $1,000,232.

In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Terence Kern for the Northern District of Oklahoma ordered Albert to serve one year of supervised release and to pay approximately $1,000,232 in restitution to the United States and $2,615,750 in restitution to Pelco Industries Inc., which is the former parent company of Pelco.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Clinton J. Johnson for the Northern District of Oklahoma made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Meredith Havekost of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Duncombe for the Northern District of Oklahoma are prosecuting the case.