Gary Westerman v. United States

RILEY, Chief Judge.

Gary Westerman, as president and owner of WestCorp, Inc., presided over the financial collapse of S & S Office World (S & S), WestCorp’s office supply store in Hot Springs, Arkansas. S & S could not compete when Office Depot moved into town. As WestCorp’s losses mounted in 2000 and 2001, the company continued to pay employees and creditors, but underpaid the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Unable to recover from the now defunct WestCorp, the IRS assessed a penalty under 26 U.S.C. (I.R.C.) § 6672 against Wes-terman, the person responsible for collecting and paying the “trust…