TYLER, Texas (KETK) – A lawyer for Tyler will spend the next 18 months behind bars for failing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes on his law firm’s work.

John Bennett White IV, 61, pleaded guilty in February and was sentenced Wednesday afternoon by U.S. District Judge Campbell Barker, a candidate for President Trump.

“Although Mr. White withheld payroll taxes from his employees’ paychecks, he spent the money on himself rather than returning it to the government. Mr White also concealed assets on behalf of others and altered the law firm’s books to hide his fraud, all to the detriment of his honest compatriots and taxpayers.

Acting US Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei

White was a chief of staff to J. Bennett White, CP and court documents showed he had “significant control over the finances of the company.”

Between mid-2007 and the end of 2015, there were seven quarters where White paid no employment tax to the IRS and 10 quarters where it was only partial payments. In total, he hid over $ 300,000.

Instead of paying employment taxes, White paid other creditors and