Federal prosecutors say a Kansas businessman pleaded guilty Thursday for his role in two fraud schemes involving false payday loan debt and tax evasion totaling more than $8 million. The U.S. attorney's office for the western district of Missouri says in a news release that Joel Jerome Tucker, 51, of Prairie Village, Kansas, pleaded guilty to one count each of transporting stolen money across state lines, bankruptcy fraud and tax evasion.
Under his plea deal, Tucker must pay more than $8 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and forfeit an additional $5,000. He faces up to 20 years prison.
