Owners of Catering Business Are Sentenced for Tax Fraud

SANTA ANA — A Newport Beach couple were each sentenced to six months of detention after pleading guilty earlier this year to charges they failed to report $1.8 million earned in the family catering business during the late 1980s.

Beverly Wunsch, 56, was sentenced Monday in federal court to six months in prison--with a recommendation that her time be served in a halfway house--and three years’ probation. Her husband, William, 55, was sentenced to six months in a halfway house, three years’ probation and 400 hours of community service.

The couple operated the food stands at various golf tournaments, including the Bob Hope Classic in Palm Springs, through their catering business, Park Avenue Gourmet Catering in Orange. They also admitted underreporting income from a restaurant called Culpeppers in Orange.

“The government is pleased with the sentences,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Elana S. Artson. “I believe it sends a strong message that tax cheats will be prosecuted and appropriately punished.”

Teri Lee Sower, 30, the company bookkeeper and the Wunsches’ daughter, served 15 days in a halfway house in October after pleading guilty to helping her parents prepare a false income tax return, Artson said.

The amount of back taxes the couple owe is still in dispute, according to Artson. The government contends the unpaid taxes total $350,000, while the couple contend they owe $68,000. The Wunsches have put $200,000 in a special account to pay the back taxes.

A criminal investigation by the Internal Revenue Service began two years ago after an audit turned up irregularities in the Wunsches’ tax returns.