A former Laramie business operator who pleaded guilty to 12 counts of tax evasion has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $356,000 in restitution, U.S. Attorney Bob Murray announced Tuesday.

Murray says between 2013 and 2016, Curtis Alan Perry, of Windsor, Colorado, operated an ammunition manufacturing and sales business in Laramie, which made and marketed ammunition under the Ammo Kan brand.

"Although he withheld federal taxes from his employees’ paychecks, Perry did not pay those taxes to the Internal Revenue Service," said Murray.

"Instead, Perry used the unpaid employment taxes to support himself and his business," he added.

Murray says U.S. District Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal, who handed down the sentence, also found that Perry evaded federal excise taxes on ammunition sales.

Murray says the total tax loss to the U.S. government caused by Perry was $356,280.37.

“Employment tax evasion results in the loss of tax revenue to the U.S. government and the loss of future Social Security and Medicare benefits for those employees,” said Murray.

“Each year, the vast majority of Wyoming businesses follow the tax laws and pay their fair share," he added. "Those who willfully evade such obligations should fully expect to be held accountable for their criminal conduct."

Perry will be on supervised release for three years once he is released from prison.

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