The former owners of Teakwoods, a restaurant with one location in Gilbert and another in Chandler, were convicted of three felonies each related to a multiyear scheme to evade paying certain Arizona taxes, according to an Arizona Department of Revenue release. 

A judge sentenced George Krotonsky to to one and a half years in prison, followed by seven years of supervised probation after his release.  

Krotonsky previously pled guilty to one count of fraudulent schemes and artifices, a Class 2 felony, and two counts of filing a false tax return, Class 5 felonies. The court ordered Krotonksy to pay restitution to the Arizona Department of Revenue in the amount of $1,974,569.16 and a fine in the amount of $100,000. 

A judge also sentenced Aubrey Sturdivant to nine months in the Maricopa County Jail and seven years of supervised probation.  

Sturdivant previously pled guilty to one count of fraudulent fchemes and Artifices, a Class 2 Felony, and two counts of filing a false tax return, Class 5 felonies. The court ordered Aubrey Sturdivant to pay restitution to the Arizona Department of Revenue of $1,052,616.31 and a fine of $100,000.  

Krotonsky and Sturdivant were indicted by a state grand jury Nov. 22, 2021, alleging failure to pay transaction privilege tax and withholding income tax along with failing to file the corresponding returns between Jan. 1, 2013 and Oct. 31, 2019.  

The investigation shows that Teakwoods locations were properly charging and collecting TPT from customers, however, the business owners kept the TPT collected from their customers instead of remitting the tax to the Arizona Department of Revenue.  

An investigation also uncovered that between January 2013 and October 2019, Krotonsky and Sturdivant were withholding income tax from employees’ paychecks and not remitting that tax to the State, but instead kept the tax withholdings.  

The grand jury charged Krotonsky with four counts of filing a false tax return for underreporting on his Arizona individual income tax for 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Similarly, the grand jury charged Aubrey Sturdivant with three counts of filing a false tax return for underreporting on her Arizona individual income tax returns for 2017, 2018, and 2019.  

This was a cooperative investigation between the Criminal Investigations Unit of the Arizona Department of Revenue and the Special Investigations Section of the Office of the Arizona Attorney General.  

The Department of Revenue asks that a business owner who has fallen behind in filing tax returns reach out to the department for help in coming into voluntary compliance. The Voluntary Disclosure and Compliance team can answer questions and seek assistance