A Ventura man was sentenced to six months in jail today after previously pleading no contest to felony counts in a complex embezzlement and tax fraud scheme, according to the Franchise Tax Board (FTB).
David Carl Roddick, 55, former general manager of a Santa Barbara horticulture business supplier, pleaded no contest to two felony counts, including failing to file a tax return and to grand theft in connection with the embezzlement scheme. Two other employees of this business, Elford Harold Scott, 49, Roddick’s brother-in-law, and Michael John Peltier, 52, previously pleaded no contest to similar felony charges. The three men were charged with embezzling more than $174,000 from their company over a two-year period starting in 1999. Scott and Peltier were charged with receiving unauthorized company checks from Roddick. All three were arrested in July 2002.
Investigators say that the embezzlement was hidden from the company through a duplicate set of business checks. Roddick wrote checks to himself, Scott, and Peltier. Roddick replaced the real checks that were cashed by the three with false checks to hide the identity of the true payee. Roddick, Scott, and Peltier failed to report the embezzled funds on their state income tax returns. All income is taxable, including income from illegal activities.
The case points to the FTB’s ongoing effort to reduce the estimated $6.5 billion annual tax gap in California. The tax gap is the difference between what taxes are owed and what taxes are actually paid
Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Thomas Adams sentenced Roddick. In negotiated plea agreements, Roddick received 180 days in County Jail and three years of formal felony probation, Scott received 60 days in County Jail and three years of formal felony probation, and Peltier received 120 hours of community service work. In addition to the jail time, Roddick, Scott, and Peltier were ordered to pay the state more than $42,000, which includes delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, and the cost of the investigation. The three were instructed to pay full restitution to the victim in this case.
Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney James Kreyger prosecuted the case. This was a joint investigation by Santa Barbara County District Attorney and FTB.