JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Travis Morgan Slaughter and Tripp Charles Slaughter, owners of multiple Jacksonville roofing businesses, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit tax fraud, federal prosecutors announced. The charges stem from a yearslong scheme involving unpaid payroll taxes, falsified workers’ compensation insurance premiums, and underreported personal income.
Prosecutors say the brothers operated their business under various names since 2007, including Great White Construction, Florida Roofing Experts, and 5 Star Roofing Services. They contracted with professional employer organizations (PEOs) to issue payroll checks, file payroll tax returns, and pay workers’ compensation premiums. However, the Slaughters intentionally underreported employee wages to avoid payroll taxes and insurance costs.
From 2017 to 2020, the company issued $18.5 million in direct payments to employees that bypassed payroll taxes, leading to $2.7 million in unpaid payroll taxes. Additionally, the Slaughters underreported wages to workers’ compensation insurers, resulting in $2.8 million in unpaid premiums. The scheme extended to their personal taxes, with Travis Slaughter failing to pay $2.4 million in income taxes from 2014 to 2019 and Tripp Slaughter avoiding $263,614 in the same period.
Travis Slaughter has agreed to forfeit $2.7 million in fraud proceeds and pay restitution of more than $9.8 million, covering payroll tax losses, unpaid insurance premiums, and workers’ compensation claims. Tripp Slaughter has agreed to forfeit $416,800 and pay $1.17 million in restitution. Both face up to 20 years in prison for mail and wire fraud and up to five years for tax fraud.
The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation division, Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Florida Department of Financial Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier is prosecuting the case, with asset forfeiture handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer M. Harrington.