Craig S. Morford
United States Attorney
Darryl Stewart
Assistant U.S. Attorney
(615) 736-5151
RIVER TRANSPORT CORPORATION PRESIDENT SENTENCED ON TAX CHARGES
Nashville, TN – June 19, 2007 – Craig S. Morford, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, announced that James Ronald Hunter, 63, of Nashville, Tennessee, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert L. Echols to serve 6 months in prison, followed by a two year term of supervised release with a special condition that he serve 6 months and 1 day in home confinement for income tax evasion. Judge Echols also ordered Hunter to pay a fine of $30,000, plus the costs associated with his imprisonment and his two year term of supervised release. Hunter is to report to prison on August 13, 2007.
Hunter, President of Hunter Marine Transport, Inc. (HMT), pled guilty on March 8, 2007, to one count of income tax evasion for calendar year 2000. During Hunter’s plea hearing, he admitted that he paid over $229,600 in personal living expenses with corporate funds from 1999 through 2001. These personal living expenses were deducted on HMT’s corporate tax returns as corporate expenses and were excluded from the income Hunter reported on his personal income tax returns for those years.
Hunter admitted that company checks were used to pay for his personal bills and invoices for maintenance and improvements for his Nashville, Kentucky Lake, and Ft. Lauderdale homes. Initially, Hunter provided an IRS auditor with an altered invoice, stating that it was for dock repairs at HMT and lied to the IRS auditor regarding the purpose of checks paid to a company called Design Collaborative, stating they were for tug boat remodeling expenses. He later admitted that these expenses were actually for a construction project at his Ft. Lauderdale home and design work and furnishings for another personal residence.
Prior to being sentenced Hunter paid the IRS more than $90,000 in taxes due as a result of his criminal conduct, plus penalties and interest.
This investigation was conducted by IRS - Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Darryl Stewart led this prosecution on behalf of the United States Government.