Camden business operator arrested, accused of tax evasion

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South Carolina Department of Revenue agents arrested a Kershaw County restaurant operator on Feb. 5 and charged her with 12 state tax offenses, according to a news release from the Revenue Department.

Charges include one count of income tax evasion, two counts of failure to file an income tax return, three counts of liquor-by-the-drink tax evasion, one count of failure to file a liquor-by-the-drink tax return, three counts of sales tax evasion, one count of failure to file a sales tax return, and one count of failure to account for and pay withholding tax.

Debra A. Courtney, 63, of Lugoff, was the operator of Gadgets, a Kershaw County restaurant. According to arrest warrants, Courtney failed to file income tax returns for two years, failed to file a liquor-by-the-drink tax return for one year, and under-reported sales to the Revenue Department, including liquor-by-the-drink sales, by $2.4 million from 2019-2022, the news release stated. She also failed to pay the state withholding tax taken from employees’ paychecks for 10 years.

Courtney is accused of evading a total of $238,384 in state taxes.

If convicted, Courtney faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison or a $10,000 fine, or both, for each count of each charge, the release stated. She was being held at the Kershaw County Detention Center for a bond hearing on Feb. 9.

“The S.C. DOR is committed to the fair administration of tax laws,” the department stated in the release. “By taking enforcement action against noncompliant taxpayers, the department seeks to prevent unfairly increasing the tax burden on those who do comply.”

The Revenue Department encourages the public to report suspected state tax crimes using their online form (pdf) or by email at FraudAdvisor@dor.sc.gov or by U.S. mail to 2070 Northbrook Blvd., Suite B7, North Charleston, SC 29406.