LEE COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida roofing company owner and his office administrator have been sentenced to federal prison for a decade-long conspiracy to defraud the IRS by paying millions in off-the-books cash wages, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
William Skaggs Jr., the owner of Nastar Roofing, was sentenced to three years in federal prison. Billie Adkison, who served as the company’s main office administrator, received a sentence of one year and one day.
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Both defendants were convicted of conspiring to defraud the United States by failing to pay employment taxes.
According to court records and testimony, Skaggs and Adkison paid Nastar Roofing employees primarily in cash from 2013 through 2023, evading their legal obligation to withhold and remit Social Security, Medicare, and federal income taxes. Investigators said the total unreported payroll exceeded $21 million.
At times, Nastar Roofing used a payroll service to issue small paychecks, but the company reportedly withheld the cash payments from the service, rendering the IRS filings inaccurate.
When the company filed its own returns, those, too, were said to have omitted substantial cash wages. Prosecutors noted that both Mr Skaggs and Ms Adkison signed tax forms they knew were false.
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The total tax loss to the federal government was estimated at nearly $2.5 million.
In addition to their prison terms, U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell of the Middle District of Florida sentenced both Skaggs and Adkison to three years of supervised release. A restitution amount will be determined at a later date.
The announcement was made by Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Sara Sweeney for the Middle District of Florida.
The IRS Criminal Investigation Tampa Field Office investigated the case. It was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kevin Schneider of the Tax Division, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Leeman, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Winter.
