Utah escort-service owner pleads guilty to tax evasion

Roy B. Hoskins plead guilty Friday to charges of attempted income-tax evasion, according to the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service.

The indictment says Hoskins owned and operated the Utah-based escort service Companions and knowingly omitted "substantial" income from his individual forms in 2001 and 2002. He now faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both for each charge. A sentence hearing is scheduled for July 6 in U.S. District Judge Dee Benson's courtroom in Salt Lake City.

Hoskins' case was prosecuted by attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah. It was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigations Division.

— Clayton Norlen