Pierce County self storage owner indicted for $4.8 million tax evasion scheme
A Seattle man who owns self storage facilities in DuPont and Lakewood was indicted this week for $4.8 million tax evasion scheme, the U.S. Attorney announced Thursday.
Steven T. Loo, 68, is accused of diverting rental income to LLCs and then failing to declare it as income on tax returns for six years, according to the U.S. Attorney.
Loo will be arraigned May 2 on six charges of tax evasion and six charges of filing false tax returns.
Loo wholly or partly owned and operated multiple businesses in western Washington and California, according to the indictment.
Two of those included DuPont Heated Self Storage located in the 3400 block of International Place in DuPont and Safe Self Storage in the 3700 block of 112th Street Southwest in Lakewood, according to the indictment. Both are operated through Urban Self Storage.
Loo hired property management companies to manage the properties. They, in turn, sent profits to bank accounts Loo controlled.
Loo spent that money on himself, family and friends, according to the indictment, without declaring it as income — a total of $4.8 million. He did not file any forms that would account for this income for tax years 2015-2020.
“Loo allegedly told the property management companies to label the funds as if they were fees for business services. Loo did not inform his tax return preparer of the income.
Each tax evasion charge is punishable by up to five years in prison. Making a false tax return is punishable by up to three years of imprisonment.
The case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation unit.
This story was originally published April 26, 2024 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Pierce County self storage owner indicted for $4.8 million tax evasion scheme."
