Former NASCAR Team Owner Faces Federal Charges

WNC- November 1, 2023: U.S. Attorney's Office of the Western District of North Carolina announced in a press release last month, that a former NASCAR team owner is facing federal charges.

Ronald Devine, a 67-year-old resident of Burke, Virginia, has been charged by a Charlotte grand jury with four charges of failure to pay payroll taxes. As to the accusations in the indictment, Devine held the position of owner and President at BK Racing, LLC (BK Racing), a company that managed a NASCAR racing team and possessed two NASCAR licenses. As the owner of BK Racing, Devine had complete control over the financial matters of the company. This included having exclusive authority to sign documents and manage the company's bank accounts, as well as directing and authorizing the payment of bills. Devine also had the power to authorize the filing and payment of BK Racing's trust fund taxes, which are commonly known as payroll taxes.

Payroll taxes are deducted from employees' gross wages and are utilized by the government to finance Social Security and Medicare. Additionally, they encompass the income taxes that are withheld from employees' paychecks. Employers must contribute to trust fund taxes in an amount that matches the money withheld from their employees' pay. They are also obligated to file an Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return, Form 941, every quarter to report the payment of the applicable taxes.

According to the indictment, Devine is accused of deliberately causing BK Racing to neglect the proper recording and payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in payroll taxes, beginning in 2012. According to the indictment, in 2017, Devine purportedly neglected to remit over $390,000 in payroll taxes owed to the IRS. The indictment asserts that from 2012 to 2017, Devine diverted over $2 million from the trust funds designated for payroll taxes. Instead of fulfilling the tax obligations, he transferred the funds to his other businesses and entities under his ownership and control. Additionally, Devine utilized a portion of the funds to cover various expenses of BK Racing, including rent, utilities, and vendor bills.

Devine is scheduled to make his debut in federal court in Charlotte. The offense of failing to accurately report and remit trust fund taxes is punishable by a maximum prison term of five years and a fine of $250,000 for each of the four charges listed in the indictment.

Editor's Note:* A criminal charge is an accusation, by law, a person accused of a crime is innocent until proven in a court of law.

Donald “Trey” Eakins, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, Charlotte Field Office (IRS-CI), Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which oversees Charlotte, join U.S. Attorney King in making the announcement.

WNCTimes