Owner of vision center store held in Richland County jail on tax evasion charges
CORRECTION: The original version of this story did not specify that Stephen Lamonte Franklin owned specific H Rubin Vision Center stores, and he is not the owner of all of the chain’s locations in South Carolina. The State regrets the error.
A man who owns a vision center store in Columbia was locked up in a Richland County jail on tax evasion charges, the Department of Revenue said Monday.
Stephen Lamonte Franklin, owner of the East Coast Optometric DBA H Rubin Vision Center store, was charged with four counts of failing to collect, account for, or pay over withholding tax, SCDOR officials said in a news release.
The 52-year-old Salisbury, Maryland, resident also was charged with one count of operating without a retail license, officials said.
Arrest warrants show Franklin issued W-2s to employees reflecting tax was withheld from their pay, but did not voluntarily pay the taxes to the SCDOR, according to the release.
From 2015-2018, Franklin did not pay a total of $131,745 in withholding tax that was due to South Carolina, officials said.
Franklin’s license was revoked in 2016 for unpaid business taxes, according to the release. Officials said Franklin was advised to close the H Rubin Vision Center location and cease making retail sales.
He received multiple violations for continuing to operate as he continued to make retail sales until July 2018, according to the release.
Franklin was arrested Monday and is being held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, jail records show. He remains behind bars in the jail in Columbia as no bond has been set, but a hearing is scheduled for Monday, according to Richland County court records.
If convicted on the tax charges Franklin faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine for each count, according to the release. If convicted of the operating without a license charge, the maximum punishment would be 30 days in jail and a $200 fine, officials said.
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This story was originally published November 2, 2020 at 12:33 PM.
