A Thief River Falls man is accused of cheating on his taxes after taking money from his parents and spending most of it gambling, the state Department of Revenue said today.
Gerald Laverne Sunsdahl, 52, is charged with six tax felonies, three for filing fraudulent tax returns and three of willfully failing to remit taxes.
He had power of attorney for his parents when more than $250,000 was withdrawn from their account and could not be accounted for, the revenue department said, citing a criminal complaint filed by the Pennington County Attorney’s Office. Sunsdahl wrote and cashed checks totaling this among and allegedly admitted to spending most of it at the casino.
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The department investigated and found he had failed to report the money on his tax returns in 2010 through 2012. Prosecutors allege he owes the state more than $34,000 in taxes, penalty and interest.
Each charge has a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $10,000.
