Ex-Iceoplex owner sentenced to prison for federal tax conviction
Former Iceoplex at Southpointe co-owner Steven Lynch was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison for failing to account for and pay employment taxes.
Lynch, 61, a tax attorney from Pittsburgh, was convicted in September in federal court of 16 counts for failing to pay more than $790,000 in taxes.
According to court documents and the evidence presented at trial, between 2004 and 2015, Lynch co-owned and operated the Iceoplex at Southpointe, which includes a fitness center, ice rink, soccer court, restaurant and bar. Lynch controlled the finances for these businesses and was responsible for collecting, accounting for, and paying tax withheld from employee wages, and filing quarterly employment tax returns.
The jury found that between 2012 through 2015, Lynch failed to pay the IRS taxes withheld from the wages of the employees.
“Companies deserve to compete on a level playing field,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo. “Business owners and operators who choose not to pay over to the United States the taxes that they withheld from their employees’ wages are stealing from the U.S. Treasury and should plan on facing prosecution and incarceration.”
“As the person who controlled the finances on behalf of the different Iceoplex businesses, Steven Lynch, a tax attorney, was entrusted with the significant responsibility to collect and turn over all IRS withholding taxes,” said Special Agent in Charge Akeia Conner of IRS Criminal Investigation. “His failure to pay over the withheld taxes is a violation that IRS Criminal Investigation takes very seriously. Today, justice is served and Mr. Lynch is being held accountable for his criminal actions.”
In addition to the prison term imposed by U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab, Lynch was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $793,145 in restitution to the IRS and a $75,000 fine.