Morgan-McClure co-founder Larry McClure sentenced to 18 months in prison
Morgan-McClure Motorsports co-founder Larry McClure was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison for tax fraud, according to a news release from the U.S. district attorney’s office.
McClure will also serve a one-year term of supervised release and pay a little more than $125,000 in fines, restitutions and costs associated with the case.
McClure pleaded guilty Jan. 15 to federal tax fraud charges. He could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison and fined more than $1 million.
According to the indictment, McClure did not report $325,000 of income obtained for the use of race cars in the Automobile Racing Club of America series.
According to an exhibit filed in the case, Morgan-McClure Motorsports properly reported income of $53,882.50 received from Keith Segars for ARCA racing in 2002. But neither the team nor McClure reported payments from Segars for $89,037 in 2003, $80,000 in 2004 and $100,000 in 2005. After Segars was questioned in 2006 by Internal Revenue Service investigators, Segars talked with McClure, who sent him a check for $325,000 as a “loan repayment,” according to the exhibit.
“The sentence imposed shows that no one is above the law,” said United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley. “The court found that Larry McClure deliberately evaded payment of more than $100,000 in income taxes, by accepting cash payments in brown paper bags, hiding that income from the IRS, taking steps to hide his crime and lying to investigators when questioned.”
Morgan-McClure Motorsports competed in NASCAR Cup racing from 1983 to 2007 and won 14 Cup races. The team did not field a Cup car in 2008 but did attempt to qualify for the race Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. Eric McClure, Larry’s nephew, failed to make the field.
The race team was not mentioned in the indictment.
“I accept full responsibility for my actions in failing to report the said income while president of Morgan-McClure Motorsports,” McClure said in the statement released in January. “I want to apologize to my wife, family, friends and business partners for any anguish or grief that this has caused them.
“All of our business operations will continue, and we remain very grateful for the members of the community that have supported our business over the years. With the support of my family, friends, church and my deep beliefs in Jesus Christ, we are going to move forward in this matter.”
