Department of Revenue News Release

JEFFERSON CITY - A Jefferson City man began serving a 15-day jail sentence Wednesday for tax evasion after receiving his final sentence in Cole County Circuit Court.

Farrel Shay Carpenter, 55, was found guilty by a Cole County jury in July of failing to file a tax return and failing to pay income tax in 2007.  His final sentence was handed down Wednesday by Cole County Presiding Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce.  Besides the jail sentence, Carpenter was also ordered to pay a fine of $5,000.

During the trial, testimony from an investigator with the Missouri Department of Revenue noted that Carpenter had not filed an income tax return since 1991.  Carpenter's defense included a claim that he is a "non-taxpayer" and that laws applying to taxpayers do not apply to him.

Missouri Department of Revenue Director Alana M. Barragán-Scott said that blatant tax evasion like Carpenter's is not fair to honest Missourians who follow the law.

-30-

The Missouri Department of Revenue is now on Twitter! To follow the Department on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/#!/MoRevenue.