HALLOWELL — The owner of a local restaurant and bar will serve 45 days in jail and pay more than $30,000 after being convicted of tax evasion and theft.
Krystal Lavallee, who owned and operated Brews N’ Views, between 2015 and 2017, was charged with three counts of evasion of sales tax and one count of theft by misapplication of sales tax.
According to a news release from the Office of the Attorney General, during the time that Lavallee ran the now-closed restaurant at 234 Water St., she underreported the business’s sales tax when filing sales tax returns.
“Maine depends on its business owners to deal honestly in collecting and reporting sales tax,” Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said.
Lavallee reported $37,000 in sales for a period of nearly three years.
Investigators with the Criminal Investigations Unit of the Maine Revenue Services found the actual sales made during that time were nearly 10 times the amount reported on the sales tax returns.
In total, state officials say Lavallee underreported the restaurant’s obligation to collect and pay sales tax of more than $24,000 to Maine Revenue Services.
On May 19, she was convicted of three counts of tax evasion of sales tax and one count of theft by misapplication of sales tax at the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta.
In addition to the jail term, Lavallee is expected to pay $30,735.94 in restitution; that figure includes interest that has accrued. She’ll also be on probation for a year.
Matthew Morgan, Lavellee’s attorney, did not immediately return a call for comment Wednesday.
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