Regretful strawberry farmer sentenced in tax case

Apr 17, 2009      Tampa Tribune

Elaine Silvestrini

Apr. 17, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- TAMPA -- His reputation damaged, Plant City strawberry farmer Darryl Williams was sentenced this morning to three years of probation, with 90 days of house arrest, for filing false tax returns.

"I regret committing this crime and would look forward to putting this behind me and overcoming the embarrassment" to my family and community, Williams told U.S. District Judge Richard Lazzara. "I have done everything possible to make it right with the IRS and hope that you would consider that."

"Plant City is a small town, and I'm sure everybody knew about this," Lazzara said. "It wasn't worth it, was it?"

"No sir," Williams said.

The sentence was the latest in a string of criminal penalties imposed on Hillsborough strawberry farmers, including Williams' brother and Balm farmer Janet Goodson.

William Keith Williams has been sentenced to three years of probation for similar charges, as well as $39,000 in restitution.

The brothers' farm, D&K Farms, is scheduled to be sentenced later this month for crop insurance fraud. D&K pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining more than $400,000 in federal crop insurance payments from about July 2001 to June 2003.

Goodson has been sentenced to three months in prison followed by a year of probation on tax charges. Goodson Farms was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay a $1.1 million fine for crop insurance fraud.

Goodson Farms admitted fraudulently obtaining more than $1 million in federal crop insurance to cover its pepper crops from about March 2001 to September 2004. The charges state that the farm claimed losses even though it had harvested and sold the crops.

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0201-34213427

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