Lake of the Ozarks developer pleads guilty on tax charges

News-Leader staff

Michael G. Schlup, a developer of luxury condominiums at the Lake of the Ozarks, pleaded guilty to 14 criminal charges today.

Charges include failing to withhold taxes from his construction workers, many of whom were undocumented workers, or remit those payroll taxes and file the appropriate return with the state of Missouri.

Schlup is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 17. Under the terms of the plea, the state is recommending that Schlup receive concurrent sentences of five years in prison on each of the fourteen counts, be ordered to pay the maximum fine on each count totaling $140,000 and be ordered to pay $24,873.36 in costs.

In addition, Schlup is required to pay all applicable state and federal taxes and penalties prior to sentencing.

Attorney General Jay Nixon’s office began its investigation after learning of reports of one worker’s death and several serious worker injuries at the Plaza Gardens construction site. Nixon also said that he had reason to believe that as many as 30 undocumented workers may have been working at the site. Schlup paid his workers in cash and didn’t deduct withholdings from the wages. Employees at the site worked 70 hours a week, and the undocumented workers were paid approximately $8 an hour.

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