Feb. 2—SIOUX FALLS — A Mitchell man who owned a veterinary nutritional business pleaded guilty on Jan. 23 in federal court to felony tax evasion stemming from his business dealings throughout 2015 and 2016.
Phillip Colin Kirkegaard, a retired Mitchell veterinarian, was charged with tax evasion after investigators with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) discovered he "intentionally underreported gross receipts" amounting to $176,891 throughout the 2016 tax year. The tax evasion charge Kirkegaard pleaded guilty to is a federal felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to court documents, Kirkegaard admitted to receiving checks on behalf of his business, Veterinary Nutritional Services, that were required to be reported as income but were not reported as such and utilizing business funds to make personal investments and deducting them as business expenses.
Kirkegaard was employed by a company while also being self-employed when he committed the tax evasion crimes, a factual basis statement said.
He received rebate checks from companies he worked with in 2015 and 2016 but did not deposit the checks and apply the amounts to offset costs of goods that would reflect the checks as income, according to court documents. Kirkegaard admitted he was cashing the checks to utilize the funds for "personal purchases, trips and gifts," court documents said.
Kirkegaard has yet to be sentenced. He could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the tax evasion felony.
Kirkegaard's business, Veterinary Nutritional Services, that was named in court documents was not found on the Better Business Bureau website.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Dakota is prosecuting the case.