SCDOR arrests two more in tax evasion investigation, bringing total to 25

SCDOR agents arrested two Aiken County men on Monday and charged them with tax evasion, concluding an investigation that ended with charges against 25 individuals in the last week.

Joseph Alexander Mims Sr., 37, of Beech Island and William Paul Rogers, 28, of North Augusta were each charged with willful attempt to evade or defeat a tax, and Rogers was also charged with failure to file a return, pay tax, or keep records.

According to arrest warrants, both Mims and Rogers each failed to file a South Carolina Individual Income Tax return for multiple tax years after falsely indicating on employer tax withholding documents that they were exempt from South Carolina Income Tax.

Mims was charged with four counts of willful attempt to evade or defeat a tax, for tax years 2021-24. He earned income of at least $368,921 and evaded approximately $8,651 in state Income Tax.

Rogers was charged with two counts of willful attempt to evade or defeat a tax, for tax years 2022-23, and one count of failure to file a return, for tax year 2024. He earned income of at least $233,970 and evaded approximately $9,314 in state Income Tax.

The arrests capped a 10-month SCDOR investigation that resulted in charges against 25 defendants in Aiken, Edgefield, and Barnwell counties, including 23 arrests made last week.

In total, the 25 defendants earned a total of $6,606,775 in wages from 2020-24 and evaded the payment of $275,956 in South Carolina Income Tax.

If convicted, Mims and Rogers face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine together with the cost of prosecution for each count of tax evasion. Rogers also faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison and/or a fine of $10,000 together with the cost of prosecution for each count of failure to file a return. The defendants are being held in the Aiken County Detention Center pending a bond hearing.

If you suspect or know of anyone or a business that has committed a state tax crime, such as tax evasion or tax fraud, submit a Tax Violation Complaint to the SCDOR:

• We recommend submitting your complaint on My​DORWAY​, the SCDOR's free online tax portal. Get started at dor.sc.gov/tax-violation-complaint.
  • You do not need to log in or create an account to submit a complaint on MyDORWAY.
• You can also submit a paper version of the Tax Violation Complaint form, which is available at dor.sc.gov/taxfraud.

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SCDOR Public Information Office
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