Byron Center Resident Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion

James Scholten ordered to pay $868,707 in taxes due to the United States GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – James Phillip Scholten, age 51, of Byron Center was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison by United States District Judge Jane M. Beckering. Additionally, Scholten was ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $868,707 and serve three years of supervised release following prison. Court records reflect that Scholten pled guilty to tax evasion and admitted that he failed to report $3.4 million of income he generated through the sale of scrap material over a 13-year period. Scholten stole the highly valuable scrap material from his employer and used the proceeds to unlawfully enrich himself and finance a lifestyle he could not otherwise afford. Scholten intentionally failed to provide his CPA with records documenting his recycling income to evade assessment of tax on that income. For example, in 2021, Scholten reported that he only owed $2,465 in federal income tax. In fact, Scholten obtained an additional $610,818 in taxable income from recycling activity, which resulted in an additional tax due and owing of $172,618.