A Carteret County businessman was arrested today on felony tax charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue. William Louis Willis, 53, of Newport, NC was charged with five counts of Embezzlement of State Property.
Arrest warrants allege that Willis, managing member of Katwil, LLC dba Shuckin Shack Oyster Bar, aided and abetted the business to embezzle, misapply, and convert to its own use approximately $94,510.69 in North Carolina Sales Taxes (State & Carteret County) during the period of Jan. 1, 2017 through March 31, 2021. During this period of time, Willis was a responsible person of Katwil, LLC, and was under a duty to collect, hold in trust, and remit North Carolina and Carteret County Sales Tax to the North Carolina Department of Revenue.
Willis appeared before a Wake County magistrate and was placed under a $70,000.00 bond. A first appearance is scheduled for Feb. 1, 2022 in Wake County District Court in Raleigh.
The charges against Willis resulted from an investigation by special agents with the Department’s Criminal Investigations Division in Raleigh.