The owner of a Colorado-based accounting firm took a deal and pleaded guilty Monday to tax evasion and “conspiring to defraud the United States” of more than $8 million, according to federal officials.
Rodney Ermel was indicted on nine felony charges, including conspiracy, tax evasion, filing false returns, aiding and assisting in filing false returns and wire fraud in March 2024, according to court documents.
As part of the deal, Ermel pleaded guilty on Monday to two felonies: conspiracy and tax evasion, according to court records. The other seven charges were dropped.
Ermel conspired with Kenneth Bacon and to hide about $20 million in income between 2016 and 2018 by fabricating shareholder loans and “bad debt” deductions, according to a from the U.S. Department of Justice. He then filed tax returns that he knew underreported taxable income.
Ermel’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 3, according to the release.
He faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $500,000 fine in addition to any portion of the $8 million fraud he will be ordered to pay back, according to court documents.
