Branson businessman pleads guilty to withholding payroll taxes

A Branson-area developer and businessman pleaded guilty Friday to failing to pay the government roughly $490,000 in taxes he withheld from his employees’ paychecks.

Justin Gage, 41, of Ridgedale, has been involved in several businesses, but the guilty plea relates to his ownership in Eagle Construction and Excavating LLC, Gage Excavating LLC, Gage Family Entertainment LLC and Hollister Pizza Co. LLC.

Gage admitted he was aware of requirements to pay $490,227 in taxes to the government and willfully chose not to, according to a news release from the office of Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

In his guilty plea, Gage admitted his bookkeeper notified him of the payroll taxes earned, but each quarter, he withheld the taxes from his employees’ paychecks to the IRS.

The misconduct occurred between the third quarter of 2008 and the third quarter of 2010, according to the release.

Under federal statutes, Gage could be subject to a sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, as well as a fine of up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will follow the U.S. Probation Office’s presentence investigation.

In 2012, Big Cedar LLC, Bass Pro Shops’ entity that operates Big Cedar Lodge, purchased Hollister-based Gage’s Long Creek Marina Inc. on Table Rock Lake for $2.3 million.

The company, which was led by President Gage, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization the prior year.

Gage also has had ownership ties to Branson’s Starlite Theatre and a proposed $250 million resort via Hollister Interchange Development Co. That development fell through due to lack of financing, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.