Kauai trucking officers
get jail time for tax fraud
The officers of one of the largest trucking companies on Kauai were each ordered to serve 15 days in jail as a condition of probation for failing to pay withholding taxes and attempting to evade taxes.
Stephen Girald, 57, president of Kauai Freight Service Inc., and his wife, Ashlet Girald, 49, will begin serving their jail sentences during staggered periods in February.
Under state law, when employers withhold taxes from their employees' pay, the taxes are held in trust and cannot be used for other purposes.
The corporation pleaded no contest earlier to first-degree theft for a period from Jan. 1, 1998, to Feb. 28, 2001, and attempting to evade or defeat a tax between Jan. 1, 1998, to Dec. 31, 1999. The corporation was ordered to pay restitution of $360,592, with the Giralds liable.
Stephen Girald, who earlier pleaded no contest to first-degree theft, and Ashlet Girald, who earlier pleaded no contest to one count of attempting to evade or defeat a tax, both received a five-year deferral of their pleas.
If both abide by court-imposed conditions for the entire five years, they have a chance to have the charges dismissed.