IRS alleges Klawock harvesters owe $400,000+

A Southeast Alaska couple engaged in commercial fisheries has been charged in federal court in Juneau with four counts of willful failure to pay their individual income taxes totally over $400,000. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder said July 26 that Archie W. Demmert III and Roseann L. Demmert, both of Klawock, had earned income from commercial fishing. 

Archie Demmert is the owner of Vetta Bay LLC, which owns the Demmerts’ fishing vessel, the Emerald Beauty. 

Information released by Schroder charges that the Demmerts have a long history of not paying taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, and alleges that the Demmerts did not pay their taxes for 13 tax years, for which they owed over $400,000, excluding penalties and interest. 

The Demmerts face a statutory maximum sentence of one year in prison on each separate count, and a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalities, Schroder said. 

The information is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty, he noted. 

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