Portland, OR. — A Happy Valley tree removal business owner was sentenced Thursday to 15 months in federal prison for willfully failing to pay over employment taxes withheld from her employees to the Internal Revenue Service.
Joyce Leard, 47, owner and operator of Mr. Tree Inc., was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $2,880,346.25 in restitution, along with a $100 special assessment.
According to court documents, from approximately 2017 through 2024, Leard operated Mr. Tree Inc., a company providing tree removal and landscaping services that employed between 50 and 75 workers annually and advertised more than 30 years in business…