Farwell businessman found guilty of employment tax crimes

A federal jury convicted Dale Thrush for not paying employment taxes and not filing his own individual income tax returns this week. Earlier in December, Thrush was convicted of fraudulently obtaining a PPP loan.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Dale Thrush, of Farwell, owned and operated several automotive repair service locations and a gas station. Thrush was responsible for withholding Social Security, Medicare and income taxes from his employees’ wages and paying those funds over to the IRS on behalf of his employees. From October 2014 through December 2016, Thrush withheld those funds from his employees’ wages but did not pay over the full amount of the withheld taxes to the IRS. Instead, Thrush used some of those funds to pay personal expenses, including the remodeling and construction costs for his wife’s business.
In addition, Thrush did not file his own individual income tax returns for 2013 through 2016 despite being legally obligated to do so.
Thrush was convicted of three counts of willful failure to pay payroll taxes and four counts of willful failure to file individual income tax returns. He was acquitted of seven counts of willful failure to pay payroll taxes.
Thrush is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of not paying employment taxes and a maximum penalty of one year in prison for each count of not filing his individual income tax returns. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
A federal jury convicted Thrush of wire fraud for fraudulently obtaining a Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan and loan forgiveness in December.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Dale Thrush defrauded the Small Business Administration (SBA) by falsely representing to a bank and the SBA in an application for a PPP loan that he was not subject to an indictment, when in fact he was, and then by seeking forgiveness of that loan. The PPP was enacted as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a law designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans feeling the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thrush is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17, 2025. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for wire fraud. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.