WILMINGTON - Marydel residents Donald and Amy Gilliss were sentenced on Tuesday to six months in federal prison for conspiring to defraud the United States government by evading taxes, a news release said.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware David Weiss said that according to court documents and statements made in open court, the Gillisses, a married couple, own and operate Arundel Tree Services, a business that provides tree care and removal in Maryland and Delaware.
For years, Mr. Weiss said, the Gillisses operated Arundel as an under-the-table cash business to evade federal income tax payments and to avoid paying federal employment taxes on behalf of Arundel’s employees.
“The Gillisses accepted checks as payments made to Arundel,” Mr. Weiss said. “Rather than deposit those checks into a business checking account, they cashed the checks at a local check cashing business.
“They then deposited the cash into their personal bank account and paid Arundel employees in cash. Doing so enabled the Gillisses to cheat on their taxes for years.
“Tax dodging represents an affront to every member of the tax-paying public, and we will continue to prosecute tax cheats aggressively.”
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