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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A husband and wife have been sentenced to several years in federal prison for spending designated payroll taxes from their employee-leasing firms on a large home, luxury cars and jewelry.
Steven Christensen and Diane C. Christensen, who settled a 31-count indictment by pleading guilty to tax evasion and filing false employer returns, were sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge David Sam.
Prosecutors said the Christensens diverted as much as $7.5 million in tax deposits, using the money to build a home and buy luxury vehicles, stocks and jewelry.
Diane Christensen will serve three years and five months in prison. Steven Christensen will serve three years and one month. Both face three years each of probation after their prison terms.
The couple ran the employee leasing and payroll businesses Wasatch Management Services, Paragon Business Solutions of America and Professional Staffing Advantages from 1995 to 1998.
In the plea deal, the Christensen said they "knowingly diverted money that Wasatch Management Services had collected for the payment of its employer tax liability" on behalf of companies that leased workers from Wasatch.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
