HARRISON (KFSM) — The owner of The Rowdy Beaver was sentenced Tuesday (May 21) to three years in federal prison for failing to pay employment taxes for about four years.
Rodney Minner, 62, of Eureka Springs pleaded guilty last fall in U.S. District Court to one count of willful failure to collect and pay over employment taxes.
As part of Minner’s plea agreement, Judge P.K. Holmes dismissed 34 additional counts of failing to collect over employment taxes, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Minner owes roughly $1.1 million in restitution. His prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.
Minner was responsible for handling the business’ taxes and filing Forms 941 and collecting and paying over all of the employment taxes owed, including any trust fund taxes, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
But between April 2012 and April 2016, he didn’t pay the IRS federal incomes taxes due from withholdings from employee paychecks, as well as any employer taxes.
Minner estimated the tax loss from those years to be between $500,000 and $1,500,000.
Named in part for its close proximity to Beaver Lake, Beaver Dam and the town of Beaver, The Rowdy Beaver opened in 2006. It has two locations in Eureka Springs and two more in Cassville, Mo., and Branson, Mo.