RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The owner of a catering business based out of Cary plead guilty on Monday to four counts of embezzlement of state property.
The North Carolina Department of Revenue filed the charges on 54-year-old Marcus Vegas, the owner of Vegas Culinary Services.
Embezzlement investigation
According to information presented in Wake County Superior Court, Vegas aided and abetted his business to embezzle, misapply and convert to its own use about $164,322.57 in North Carolina sales tax.
Court documents said this happened from Jan. 1, 2013 through Sept. 30, 2019.
Throughout this time, the NCDOR said Vegas was the responsible person of his company and was under a duty to collect, hold in trust and remit N.C. state sales tax to the NCDOR.
This information was gathered during an investigation by special agents with the Department’s Criminal Investigations Division in Raleigh, according to the NCDOR.
Vegas was charged with four counts of embezzlement of state property.
Special Prosecutions attorneys in the office of the Attorney General prosecuted the case.
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Business owner sentenced
During Monday’s hearing, a judge sentenced Vegas to two, 16-month minimum, 29-month maximum prison terms. However, both sentences were suspended.
As a condition of probation, the NCDOR said the court placed Vegas on house arrest with electronic ankle monitoring for 120 days, ordered him to perform 75 hours of community service and placed him on supervised probation for 60 months, or five years.
Vegas also paid $25,000 towards restitution prior to his plea, and was ordered to pay the remaining $139,322.57 in restitution.
