"The Department of Revenue is committed to applying Tennessee's tax laws and policies uniformly to all taxpayers to ensure a level playing field," said Revenue Commissioner Loren L. Chumley. "The department cannot and will not allow people engaged in fraudulent tax activities to have a competitive advantage over honest businesspeople."

Ruth was indicted by the Hamilton County Grand Jury on Feb. 3, 2005, on 37 counts of sales tax fraud and one count of theft. The indictment charged that Ruth willfully and intentionally caused Sports Wine & Spirits to file false and fraudulent sales and use tax returns for the periods Dec. 1, 2000, through Dec. 31, 2003. These fraudulent actions resulted in Sports Wine & Spirits failing to report $570,744 of taxable sales for the business and failing to remit $50,199 of the proper sales tax collected and due. This is in violation of Tenn. Code Ann. Section 67-1-1440(g).

A $25,000 bond was set. If convicted, Ruth could be sentenced to a maximum of two years on each count in the state penitentiary and fined $3,000 for the 37 counts relating to his failure to remit sales tax collected and filing false returns. If convicted on theft of property, Ruth could be sentenced to a maximum of six years in prison and fined up to $10,000. In addition, civil tax and penalties are due the state.

Citizens who suspect violations of the Tennessee revenue laws should call the toll-free tax fraud hot line at (800) FRAUDTX (372-8389).

The Department of Revenue collects approximately 92 percent of total state tax revenue. During the 2003-2004 fiscal year, the department collected $9.1 billion in state taxes and fees. In addition to collecting state taxes, $1.6 billion of local sales tax was collected by the department for local governments during the 2003-2004 fiscal year. Besides collecting taxes, the department enforces the revenue laws fairly and impartially in an effort to encourage voluntary taxpayer compliance. The department also apportions revenue collections for distribution to the various state funds and local units of government. To learn more about the department, log on to www.Tennessee.gov/revenue.

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