Sunset Hills Man Sentenced for Falsifying Tax Refunds and Ordered to Pay $531,000 in Restitution

St. Louis, MO –Terry L. Zintel, 62, of Sunset Hills, MO, was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in prison for three counts of falsifying claims.  He appeared in federal court yesterday before U.S. District Court Judge Henry Autrey and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $531,947.75.

According to court documents, between 2012 and 2014, Terry L. Zintel was a 50% owner and operator of the biofuel plant, Midwest Biodiesel Products, located in Roxanna, Illinois. As co-owner and operator, Zintel presented to the Internal Revenue Service at least three claims for refund for excise taxes in 2013. As a result of these fraudulent claims and others, the IRS incurred a total tax loss of $531,947.75.

“We will continue to be relentless in our mission to stop tax schemes and bring the criminals who run them to justice,” said Karl Stiften, Special Agent in Charge of the St. Louis Field Office of IRS, Criminal Investigation.  “Tax credits are tax incentives; not an incentive to steal from the government.”

“A strong enforcement program is essential to maintaining the integrity of the RINs market,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Martinez of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Missouri. “Today’s sentencing shows that EPA and their law enforcement partners will continue to hold parties accountable when they defraud their customers and Renewable Fuel Standards program.”

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Environmental Protection Agency.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll was handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.