A Putnam County businessman is heading to prison after failing to turn over employment taxes to the IRS.
Dean Dawson of Hurricane was sentenced this week to a year and a half behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release. He’s also on the hook for more than $430,000 in restitution, plus interest.
Federal prosecutors say Dawson ran Real Property Consulting Group and withheld taxes from his employees’ paychecks, but never sent that money to the IRS. Instead, court records show he used company accounts to cover personal expenses, including credit card bills and even his wife’s mortgage, despite her not being employed by the company.
The Justice Department says Dawson also skipped filing his own tax returns between 2018 and 2023.
In total, the IRS lost an estimated $525,000.