Owner of SLO auto repair shop pleads guilty to not paying $500,000 in taxes, IRS says
A San Luis Obispo man who owns a prominent auto repair shop pleaded guilty Monday to a federal criminal tax charge for failing to pay nearly a half-million dollars, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
John Silveria Villa, who is the owner and operator of Villa Automotive & Autobody in San Luis Obispo, didn’t pay more than $489,551 in employment taxes between 2013 and 2015, the IRS said in a news release.
The agency said that Villa instead “used the funds to pay other business expenses, and pay other creditors instead of paying the taxes he owed.”
Villa pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday to one count of willful failure to pay employment taxes, as part of a plea agreement, according to court records.
He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 10.
According to the IRS, the maximum sentence Villa can receive is five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is higher.
The agency says that Villa has agreed to pay $244,000 towards his $489,551 restitution before sentencing.
