Testimony begins in Bolton trial

Five witnesses testified Tuesday afternoon for the government in its case against Linda and Charles Bolton.

All five said they either ate at the Boltons' restaurant or contracted for catering services with them, but handwritten notes allegedly created by Linda Bolton show the payments bracketed with the word "loan" beside them.

The Boltons own two Hattiesburg businesses, Sports 22 Restaurant and Hall Avenue Package Store. They are accused of trying to hide income by "cashing tens of thousands of dollars in checks purportedly issued in payment for liquor, wine and catering services to prevent those payments from being recorded on the business bank statements."

Charles Bolton also is Forrest County Sheriff's Department chief deputy.

Manheim Mississippi General Manager Robert "Bo" Beason was first to testify. He talked about the checks issued to Sports 22 for catering services rendered. The company each year also issued Internal Revenue Service 1099 forms to document the Boltons' income from them.

"We have a good working relationship with Charles and Linda Bolton," he said.

Government attorneys asked Beason if the Boltons or their then-accounting firm Nicholson and Co. had asked him about the 1099.

"No, they did not," he said.

On cross examination, Beason was asked if any vendor or accounting firm ever contacted him about their Form 1099s, to which he responded, "Only if they didn't receive it."

Forrest Health President and CEO Evan Dillard also was asked about a check written in 2011 to Sports 22 for a meal held at the restaurant. About 30 people attended the event.

Similarly, other witnesses testified to doing business with the Boltons and identified checks or other financial documents. Some also were shown the handwritten notes.

One of those witnesses, Lisa Conn of Greenville, South Carolina, said she had known the Boltons for around 15 years. When asked if she liked the Boltons, she said, "I have no reason not to."

A jury of 12 and two alternates were seated from a pool of 53 potential jurors at William M. Colmer Federal Courthouse on Tuesday.

Eight men and six women were selected from the pool of jurors brought in from all of the Mississippi Southern District of U.S. District Court. Judge Keith Starrett is presiding over the trial.

INDICTMENT: Click here to read government's allegations

The Boltons each face five counts of filing false tax returns and five counts of tax evasion. The charges, issued in an indictment filed March 22, stem from returns the couple filed between 2010 and 2014.

The indictment says the Boltons "did willfully make and subscribe to a joint United States Tax Return, Form 1040, which was verified by a written declaration that it was made under the penalty of perjury and was filed with the Internal Revenue Service."

The couple, according to the indictment, also allegedly provided deceptive records and made false statements, telling their tax preparer that some payments for goods were loans.

The Boltons also reportedly "knew and believed they did not report a substantial amount of income" for the tax years 2009 to 2013.

The indictment was filed by Fred P. Harper, special assistant U.S. attorney in U.S. District Court in New Orleans.

Harper said the government plans to call two more witnesses before resting its case. The trial resumes at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.