The owner of Zion Outfitter, a tour guide and rental shop near the entrance to Zion National Park, is accused of evading over $1.8 million in taxes.
The company offers biking tours, guided tubing down the Virgin River, and trips through the famous Zion Narrows slot canyons.
Court documents allege 42-year-old Phyllip Hallman Heaton, of Washington, failed to report over $5.4 million in sales between 2018 and 2022, and is now charged with five counts of evasion of assessment of income tax and five counts of fraud and false statements. According to a statement from the Department of Justice, District of Utah, “He did so by providing his tax-return preparers with profit and loss statements that underreported Zion Outfitter’s gross receipts, falsely representing to his tax preparers that the profit and loss statements were accurate, signing and authorizing the filing of tax returns with the IRS that he knew were false, and structuring cash deposits into Zion Outfitter’s checking account. This resulted in Heaton evading over $1.8 million in taxes.”
Heaton is charged with five counts of evasion of assessment of income tax and five counts of fraud and false statements. His initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for October 28.
