Hoover Businessman Pleads Guilty To Tax Evasion

BIRMINGHAM, AL — A Hoover car warranty salesman pleased guilty Monday to tax evasion. Scott Butler, who authorities say stopped paying taxes in 1993, faces sentencing June 24 this year.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Butler was an automobile industry consultant and sold automobile warranties as an independent salesman. In 1993, Butler stopped filing tax returns and attended tax defier meetings and purchased tax defier materials. Starting in 1998, Butler used several Nevada nominee corporations to receive his income, according to court reports.

Butler moved hundreds of thousands of dollars, some in precious metals, to bank accounts in Switzerland and concealed his assets in offshore insurance policies held in the name of non-U.S. insurance providers, disguising his ownership of the funds, court documents state.

“Those who attempt to defy the laws of the United States, and believe themselves to be above complying with their duties as tax payers, will quickly find that no one is above the law,” U.S. Attorney Jay Town said. “The Department of Justice will continue to federally charge those who continue to do so.”

Town said Butler converted some of his insurance annuities into precious metals, which were shipped to Butler and another individual in the United States. Some of those precious metals were given to friends and family for safekeeping. In total, Butler caused a tax loss to the Internal Revenue Service of $1,093,400, Town said.

U.S. District Judge Annemarie Carney Axon scheduled sentencing for June 24. At sentencing, Butler faces a maximum sentence of five years. Butler also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.