MIDLAND, Texas — A Midland business owner will need to pay over $12 million in restitution and spend 24 months in prison, according to a federal court.
Thomas Valdez Rodriguez, 45, was the owner of Tom-E-Lee Trucking and Tom-E-Lee Industries.
According to court records, Rodriguez failed to pay employment taxes withheld from employees at his trucking company starting in 2012 and his industry company starting in 2015.
He also reportedly failed to pay personal income taxes starting in 2011.
Failure to pay these taxes from the business continued until 2018.
According to the federal court, Rodriguez caused a total harm of $12,714,214.42 in unpaid taxes. He will be required to pay this to the IRS.
Rodriguez reportedly used some of the money to purchase season tickets on the 50-yard line of Dallas Cowboys games and chartered jets to take him and his friends to the games.
He also purchased a new residence for over $2 million.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty back in January to two counts of willful failure to account for and pay over federal withholding taxes.
He had already paid for $1 million of these fees right before he was sentenced on August 9.
"Rodriguez spent the millions in unpaid employment taxes on himself, funding his lavish lifestyle and burgeoning business. These actions not only harmed his employees’ future Social Security and Medicare benefits, he was also stealing from all honest taxpayers and the United States Treasury," said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Ramsey E. Covington of the Houston Field Office.