NASCAR: Former Cup owner Ron Devine indicted (2nd Update)
Last October, respected motorsport reporter Bob Pockrass had flagged the breaking update, ” Former team owner Ron Devine has agreed to plea deal.
Factual basis: “Devine did willfully fail to pay over to the Internal Revenue Service $176,144.88 in trust fund taxes due and owing to the IRS on behalf of BK Racing for the quarter ending June 30, 2017.” … Court date Jan 6.” That initial clear agreement paved the way for deeper scrutiny; this week, it culminated in court.
According to an official DOJ press release, Devine, 68, entered a guilty plea this Wednesday in the Western District of North Carolina, admitting to failing to pay payroll taxes dating back to 2012. Over $2 million was siphoned into his own businesses and expenses instead of being properly remitted for Social Security, Medicare, and withholding requirements. Bob Pockrass updated the status on X, writing, “Former Cup team owner Ron Devine pleaded guilty today in federal court (the plea hearing had been postponed a few times). No sentencing date listed yet. Actual plea agreement still sealed.”
While Devine was released on bond, the charge still carries serious potential penalties: up to 5 years in prison and fines reaching 250,000 dollars. No sentencing date has been announced, and critical elements of the plea agreement remain sealed, leaving some details hidden from public view. This development comes on the heels of two massive civil judgments against Devine.
January 19, 2025
The US Court of Appeals has ruled that former NASCAR team owner Ron Devine must pay $31M in back wages.
Devine was the owner of BK Racing that raced in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team went bankrupt following the 2018 season.
Devine was indicted in 2023 on four counts of failure to pay payroll taxes.
In 2022, A judge originally ruled that Devine was ordered to pay $31M to the trustee.
Devine elected to take that ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals. Now, they have elected to uphold that ruling.
The ruling read, “The bankruptcy court exhibited extraordinary patience in the face of Appellants’ egregious conduct. This Court will not condone such blatant disregard for the judicial process.”
October 19, 2023
Former Cup owner Ron Devine was indicted Wednesday of four counts of failure to pay payroll taxes, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina.
The indictment against Ron Devine, former owner and president of BK Racing, was announced today by Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Devine faces four counts of failure to pay payroll taxes, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The indictment alleges that Devine “failed to pay over more than $390,000 in payroll taxes due to the IRS” in 2017. It also claims that he “caused BK Racing to fail to account for and pay over hundreds of thousands of dollars in payroll taxes” beginning in 2012.
A news release on the indictment stated that Devine, 67, faces “a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the four counts in the indictment.”
The 67-year-old Devine was the primary owner of BK Racing, which fielded a Cup entry from 2012-18. He filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the team 72 hours before the 2018 Daytona 500, shortly before a bank was to begin court proceedings to request it operate BK Racing and seek a preliminary injunction to prevent him from selling or leasing the team’s charter. The bank claimed that the team owed more than $8 million in outstanding loans.
Later that year, the bankruptcy court sold his team’s charter and assets for $2.08 million. Front Row Motorsports purchased the charter and assets.