Brunswick Restaurant Owner Indicted for Tax Theft

A Brunswick restaurant owner has been indicted by a Glynn County Grand Jury for tax theft. The indictment charges that between July 2004 and August 2009 Hugh Ziegler collected, but did not remit, sales and withholding taxes for his business, except for one payment in February 2005. The indictment also charges that he collected, but did not remit, state withholding taxes for his business between August 2005 and June 2009.

Ziegler is charged with two counts of Unlawful Conversion of Funds Collected for Benefit of State (O.C.G.A. § 48-1-5), a felony punishable by up to ten years imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000.00 for each count. He is also charged with three counts of Theft by Taking (O.C.G.A. § 16-8-2), a felony punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000.00 for each count.

Assistant Attorney General Greg Lohmeier is prosecuting the case on behalf of the State of Georgia. Lohmeier presented the case to the Glynn County Grand Jury on March 30, 2011, and the Grand Jury returned the indictments the same day in Glynn County Superior Court. The case was investigated by Penny Dockery of the Georgia Department of Revenue.

Members of the public should keep in mind that indictments contain only allegations against the individual(s) against whom the indictment is sought. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and it will be the government’s burden at trial to prove the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the allegations contained in the indictment.