Resort Operator Pleads Guilty to Filing a False Tax Return

A Scottsdale man, William Whittington, who formerly resided in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado to filing a false tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to court documents, Whittington, age 68, filed a false 2010 individual income tax return, on which he underreported his income by more than $390,000. From 2010 to 2012, Whittington directed that the Springs Resort & Spa, in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, a business run by him and members of his family, pay many of his personal expenses, which for these years resulted him underreporting his income by more than $900,000 and not paying more than $360,000 in taxes.

Additionally, from 2003 to 2010, Whittington used two offshore bank accounts in Liechtenstein to generate approximately $9.7 million in investment income. Whittington did not pay taxes on this income, resulting in a tax loss of at least $1.5 million. In total, Whittington did not pay at least $1.8 million in taxes owed to the Internal Revenue Service.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 9, 2018. In addition to a prison sentence, Whittington faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.