Used car salesman pleads guilty to hiding $300K from the IRS

A used car salesman from Imperial pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges on Monday.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Missouri’s Eastern District says Donald Benck admitted to hiding more than $300,000 in sales commissions from the IRS. 

Most of Benck’s pay came through commissions, and between 2014 and 2016, prosecutors say Benck recruited acquaintances to get the commissions by check, cash the checks and give the cash to Benck, while keeping a small fee for themselves. 

In total, court documents show those acquaintances cashed $326,000 in checks over the three years. 

Benck didn’t report the income and has pleaded guilty to three counts of making a false statement on an income tax return. 

He’s scheduled to be sentenced in November.