President of Oklahoma Steel Pole Manufacturer Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

An Oklahoma man pleaded guilty, on Friday, March 10, to evading over $1 million in income taxes.

According to court documents, from 2014 to 2019, Phillip Barry Albert of Tulsa was President of Pelco Structural LLC and directed its outside payroll service company to pay him over $2.6 million. Albert instructed that the payments be classified as reimbursements rather than income, so that federal income taxes would not be withheld, and the payments would not be reported on his Forms W-2 as wages.

Albert filed individual income tax returns for 2014 through 2019 that did not report the payments, totaling $2,615,750, thus causing a tax loss to the IRS of $1,000,232.

Albert faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Clinton J. Johnson for the Northern District of Oklahoma made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Meredith Havekost of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Cella and Thomas Duncombe of the Northern District of Oklahoma are prosecuting the case.