RALEIGH – A Durham businesswoman pleaded guilty Tuesday in Wake County District Court to tax charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

Carolyn C. Matthews, 65, of 4508 Rogers Road, Durham pleaded guilty on May 24, 2005 to three counts of attempting to evade or defeat tax.

Wake County District Court Judge Anne Salisbury sentenced Matthews to a six-month minimum, eight-month maximum prison term. The sentence was suspended and Matthews was placed on supervised probation for 36 months. She paid $60,004.34 during court and was ordered to pay an additional $7,681.76 in restitution to the Department of Revenue. Matthews was further ordered to pay a $250 criminal fine and must perform 100 hours of community service.

The state’s evidence showed that Matthews was the president of Matthews Body Shop, Inc., located at 3401 Wake Forest Road, Durham. Matthews charged and collected $24,300.63 in North Carolina sales tax and $13,500.35 in Durham County sales tax but failed to remit the taxes to the Department of Revenue. She also withheld $22,203.36 in state income taxes from company employees that was not remitted to the Department of Revenue.

The charges against Matthews resulted from an investigation by Department of Revenue’s Durham Field Examinations Office and a special agent with the Department’s Criminal Investigations Division.

Last modified on: 10/31/07 03:43:56 PM .