A man admits to not paying money owed to the Federal Government over a period of 11 years.

The complete release below is from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri:

 A Branson man pleads guilty in federal court today to tax evasion, by knowingly failing to pay more than $825,297.81 between 2013 through 2024.

Burton Cummings, 43, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Willie Epps, Jr., to one count of tax evasion, failure to pay over taxes owed to the United States.

Cummings, a former business owner, failed to pay his income taxes in their entirety with the exception of 2015. With the interest owed and penalties, Cummings owes a total of $1,604,729.02 to the United States.

According to the plea agreement, Cummings made false statements to IRS Revenue Officers, when he claimed he had no income. Cummings admitted to submitting false forms and collection statements to the IRS to avoid paying his taxes. Cummings failed to file timely tax returns for numerous years and took significant cash withdrawals from his companies, while failing to disclose the income he received.

Under federal statutes, Cummings is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the IRS – Criminal Investigation.