Rose Ann Turnquist, owner of Rosie’s Bottoms Up in Micco, was arrested Thursday on charges of failing to remit sales tax, and evading sales tax after filing a false return.
A Senior Financial Investigator with the State of Florida Department of Revenue investigated Rosie’s Bottoms Up and found that from August 2018 through October 2019, Turnquist collected and failed to remit $28,071 in sales tax, according to the affidavit.
The investigator stated that on November 15, 2019, when she interviewed Turnquist about the false sales tax return, she claimed she was looking to sell everything.
“She advised she was about to lose everything and said she had mortgages on the business and her house and wanted to sell everything. She acknowledged that some sales tax returns hadn’t been filed and further advised the state had put a lien on her bank account. She stated her son described it as her money floating around in the cloud, and she had to sign some papers to release the money so that the taxes could be paid,” the investigator said in the report.
When asked where the sales tax money went, Turnquist advised she can’t touch her money and will pay the sales tax once it gets sorted out with the bank.
According to the investigator, some returns were filed without payment, and some returns haven’t been filed at all.
“I explained that I was investigating whether or not Theft of State Funds was committed. I advised that failure to remit collected sales tax in excess of $1,000 is Theft of State Funds and considered a felony,” the investigator said in the affidavit.
The investigator told Turnquist that the state attorney’s office would be looking into the case further. Turnquist said her bank account would be straightened in a few days and will pay the sales tax.
On December 6, 2019, a second investigator met with Turnquist to talk about the delinquencies.
“Turnquist said she had no good reason why the returns weren’t filed,” according to the affidavit.
Rosie’s Bottoms Up, located at 8400 U.S. Highway 1 in Micco, has been for sale for the past year.
“She advised she is trying to sell the property and attempting to get a loan so that she can pay off everyone she owes, including the Florida Department of Revenue. She asked that I go easy on her and give her as much time as I can so she can attempt to pay what she owes,” according to the inspector.
The investigator found that Turnquist also failed to file six-consecutive returns. A total of $28,071 in sales tax was collected from customers and was not paid to the Florida Department of Revenue.
Turnquist was arrested on April 30, 2020, on the two felony charges.