Operator of now-defunct Alpine Auto Wholesale pleads guilty to felony sales tax theft | Business

The operator of a now-closed auto supply shop was sentenced to jail time Thursday for mishandling sales taxes.

Marc E. Reed, the operator of now-defunct Alpine Auto Wholesale in Spokane, pleaded guilty to felony theft of sales tax and filing false state tax returns. Reed “admitted the business collected $179,675.33 in sales tax on retail vehicle sales in 2009 and 2010 but failed to remit it to the state,” according to a news release from the Washington State Department of Revenue.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Salvatore Cozza ruled that Reed must serve 45 days and pay $180,275.33 in restitution and court costs.

“According to the charging papers, Reed and his late mother Linda Lee Reed admitted to state investigators that they knew that they should have remitted the collected sales tax to the Department of Revenue but were 'going to get caught up later.' ”