(Dubois, WY) – The sentencing hearings for Scott and Tammy Bushnell were held yesterday, October 2, in the U.S. District Court of Casper before the Honorable Judge Scott W. Skavdahl.
Both were sentenced to 3 years of probation for the two Counts filed against them, to be served concurrently.
They were also fined $13,161 each, and ordered to pay $179,994.46 in restitution, to be paid “jointly and severally,” according to federal Court documents filed on October 2.
The Bushnells, co-owners of Trails End Guns and Trails End Motel in Dubois, were each charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and filing a false return earlier this year, after “executing a scheme to defraud the United States” through “routine under-reporting of gross income through the submission of false and fraudulent business records and reported income to the (their) accountant.”
Original federal Court charging documents stated that in “furtherance of the conspiracy,” the Bushnells performed “one or more” of the following “overt acts:”
- The routine destruction of business documents that would reveal true cash receipts
- The routine purchase of money orders with cash obtained from business operations (to hide reportable income)
- The bartering of goods and services
- The submission of fraudulent and false business records/reports to their accountant
In terms of the filing a false return charge, Court documents also stated that the couple reported a total income of $288,567 in 2021, but were found to have actually received “at least $559,026.”
As a part of the probation conditions, the Bushnells will be under home confinement for a period of eight months, will have to provide complete financial disclosure as directed, and are not allowed open new lines of credit or incur new debt, among other standard stipulations.
They were also each ordered to pay $200 in special assessment fees.