announced on May 30 that Jerri Evans, owner of the juice bar chain, pleaded guilty in D.C. Superior Court to one criminal count of failure to pay sales tax from 2017-2020, and must pay the District $452,522.07 in back taxes, penalties and interest.
Evans, the owner of three Turning Natural locations in D.C., collected sales tax from customers but failed to remit those funds over to the District as required by law.
鈥淭he willful failure to pay taxes when they are due deprives the District of needed revenues,鈥 said Schwalb. 鈥淲hen businesses engage in this type of tax evasion鈥攃ollecting sales taxes from their customers and then failing to pay them over to the District鈥攖hey not only harm the District, but they unfairly give themselves an illegal advantage over their competitors who play by the rules. This conviction should send a strong message to businesses and residents in the District that if you violate the law and cheat on paying taxes, you will be held accountable.鈥
Keith J. Richardson, deputy chief financial officer for the , said 鈥渋t is vital that all businesses comply with the tax laws of the District of Columbia.鈥
鈥淭he case of Jerri Evans and her failure to remit collected sales taxes from the Turning Natural juice bars is a serious violation of these laws,鈥 Richardson said. 鈥淚t is imperative for the integrity of our tax system that all collected taxes are properly turned over to the District as required. This outcome serves as a reminder that tax compliance is not optional and there are significant consequences for those who fail to meet their obligations.鈥
An investigation conducted by OTR determined the avoidance of paying sales taxes for the three District locations from tax years 2017-2020. The Office of the Attorney General worked closely with OTR鈥檚 Criminal Investigation Division to file criminal charges.
On May 24, Evans pleaded guilty to tax evasion and eventually entered into a payment plan with an agreement to pay the full amount owed over the next five years. She will serve a suspended sentence with a period of supervised probation to complete community service and pay restitution.