The owner and office administrator of the Nastar Roofing company in Cape Coral both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit tax fraud.
William Skaggs Jr. owned and operated the roofing company. Billie Adkison was its main office administrator.
Adkison's duties included managing the company's payroll.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice Middle District of Florida, Nastar paid its employees predominately in cash to avoid paying taxes they knew were owed to the federal government between 2013 and 2023.
Officials said one or more employees, including Skaggs and Adkison, typically withdrew large amounts of cash on Thursdays and Fridays to make Nastar's payroll at the end of the work week.
According to the news release, between 2013 and 2023, Nastar employees withdrew more than $21 million from the company's bank accounts to pay employees in cash.
Skaggs and Adkison were reportedly aware of this and intentionally caused Nastar to not withhold taxes from the cash payments to employees. According to the Department of Justice, Nastar didn't pay its share of FICA taxes on these wages.
Part of Skaggs and Adkison's plea agreement included them agreeing to make full restitution to the U.S. for the employment taxes Nastar avoided.
This includes an upfront partial restitution payment of $1 million before their sentencing hearing. They do not have a sentencing hearing set yet.
Skaggs and Adkison each face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
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