Pierz Business Owner Pleads Guilty To Tax Evasion

Jeffrey Lawrence Kloss, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion on September 24, 2019 before Senior Judge Ann D. Montgomery in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Kloss was charged on August 2, 2019 and United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald announced the guilty plea.

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, Kloss owned and operated a tree trimming business in Pierz, Minnesota. From January 2014 through at least December 2017, Kloss cashed checks from customers payable to his tree-trimming business and failed to include those funds as business income on his federal income tax returns.

Kloss failed to report a total of approximately $467,555 in income for calendar years 2014 through 2017. As a result, Kloss evaded assessment of a total of approximately $152,923 in federal income taxes for calendar years 2014 through 2017.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Svendsen is prosecuting the case.