Great Falls Firearm Dealer Has Been Accused Of Tax Fraud

The owner of a firearm shop in Great Falls, Montana, has been charged with filing false income tax returns.

The investigation has determined that the owner did not report 20%, or approximately $1.4 million, of gross receipts.

This has resulted in almost $500,000 in tax losses, according to U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich.

Great Falls Gun Store Owner Charged

Tommy Michael VanHoose, 66, has been charged with five counts of submitting a false tax return.

If convicted, VanHoose faces a maximum of three years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and one year of supervised release on each count.

Highwood Creek Outfitters

According to court documents, VanHoose listed Highwood Creek Outfitters LLC for sale for $1,750,000.

An undercover IRS agent posing as a potential buyer inquired about the listing price in February 2023.

The real estate agent told the undercover agent, "[N]ot everything flows to the tax returns.”

In a later conversation, the agent indicated that they would not identify any “off the books” income in writing but stated that the actual amount of income was “substantial.”

The undercover IRS agent toured Highwood Creek Outfitters with VanHoose in May 2023.

During the tour, VanHoose stated that he took approximately $450,000 in cash and that he had not reported 20% of grosser seats to the IRS.

Highwood Creek Outfitters Raid

Based on these claims, the federal government obtained a search warrant.

IRS agents executed the search warrant on June 14, 2023.

It was determined that 20 percent, or about $1,486,404, of the income for tax years 2018 through 2022 was owed to the IRS, resulting in him owing approximately $492,254.

The indictment also alleges that VanHoose sold firearms for more than what he actually entered into his point-of-sale system.

The court documents also state that he sold firearms to others without recording transactions and lied to his accountant about various incomplete records.

Highwood Creek Outfitters Firearm Sales

The undercover agent also asked VanHoose how he underreported the income since the ATF tracked all gun sales by serial numbers on 4473 forms.

VanHoose responded, “It’s easy.” He further stated, “They don’t know what I’m paying for or I’m getting in income off those guns.”

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