Auto Repair Owner Sentenced For Tax Theft, False Filing

OLYMPIA – A Shelton auto repair business owner was sentenced to six months in jail after pleading guilty to collecting sales tax from customers but failing to remit it to the state over a four-year period.

Marlo Brown, co-owner of Brown’s Garage, pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return and first-degree theft after being charged by the Washington state Attorney General’s Office. Prosecutors said Brown underreported the amount of sales tax collected and kept the funds instead of paying them to the state.

Phillip Brown, co-owner of the business and Marlo Brown’s husband, also pleaded guilty as a co-defendant to filing a false or fraudulent tax return. Phillip Brown was sentenced Sept. 29, 2025, to 30 days of home monitoring.

The couple was ordered to repay a combined $36,875 to the state.

Investigators said Marlo and Phillip Brown have operated an auto repair business at several locations in Shelton since 2015. The case began after the couple failed to file tax returns and pay taxes owed, prompting an investigation by the Washington State Department of Revenue and the Attorney General’s Office.

According to investigators, Marlo Brown reported business income under wholesaling to avoid paying sales tax that had already been collected from customers.

Authorities also found the couple opened and closed multiple business accounts and continued operating after the Department of Revenue filed tax warrants and revoked their business licenses.

The investigation determined the business generated significantly more revenue than reported and failed to remit thousands of dollars in sales tax between 2017 and March 2022.

Under Washington law, businesses that sell retail goods and services are required to collect sales tax from customers and remit those funds to the state. Failing to do so constitutes theft.