Evergreen Reporter

Joshua L. Wolfe, a 42-year-old resident of Givens, West Virginia, has pleaded guilty to federal tax crimes. Wolfe admitted to two counts: failing to pay a tax and failing to file an income tax return.

Court documents reveal that Wolfe did not pay around $20,000 in taxes withheld from his employees' gross pay at his business, Wolfe Construction Company Inc., due on April 30, 2019. He also failed to file an individual income tax return for the year 2018 despite drawing a salary of about $75,000 and transferring approximately $50,000 from business accounts to personal accounts.

Wolfe served as president and sole officer of Wolfe Construction from 2015 until he became the sole owner in September 2020. During this period, he admitted that he did not fully pay employment taxes for many quarters between 2017 and 2019 after withholding them from employees' gross pay. The company employed between 11 and 15 individuals during this time.

In addition to his construction business, Wolfe was the sole owner of the Barge Restaurant in Charleston since its opening in 2017. He acknowledged often failing to remit the full amount of employment taxes withheld from restaurant employees’ gross pay from 2017 through 2019 when the restaurant generally employed at least ten people.

Wolfe further confessed to claiming and receiving a refund on his individual income tax return for 2017 by reporting withheld employment taxes as "payment." He also did not file an individual income tax return for calendar year 2019 despite knowing his salary exceeded filing requirements.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 14, 2025. Wolfe faces up to two years in prison, two years of supervised release, and fines totaling $200,000. Restitution will be determined by the court.

United States Attorney Will Thompson praised the investigative efforts of IRS-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI). The hearing was presided over by United States Magistrate Judge Dwane L. Tinsley with prosecution led by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew D. Isabell alongside Trial Attorneys Brian Flanagan and Rebecca Caruso from the Department of Justice Criminal Tax Division.

Further information can be accessed through PACER using Case No. 2:24-cr-166 or on the U.S. Attorney’s Office website for the Southern District of West Virginia.