Spokane business owner ordered to repay $109,248 in sales tax stolen from the state

A Spokane business owner was convicted of first-degree theft and ordered to pay more than $109,000 in sales tax he stole from the state.

Alan Wayne Jennings was ordered to pay back $109,248 in sales tax he collected from his customers but did not remit to the state.

Jennings is the owner of Tek Direct X-Ray and Tech Direct Imaging LLC. He was charged with first-degree theft, a felony, in May 2017 and convicted by a jury in Spokane County Superior Court in April. He was sentenced last month.

State Department of Revenue auditors discovered the theft during an audit of Jennings’ businesses for a period between June 2007 and January 2011, according to agency officials.

The Department of Revenue turned the case over to the state Attorney General’s office, which prosecuted the case in conjunction with the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office.

Collecting but not remitting sales tax is illegal under Washington state law. Businesses that sell retail goods and personal property in Washington are required to collect sales tax and return it to the state.