The owner of a Happy Valley-based company that did tree removal and landscaping was sentenced Wednesday to a year and three months in federal prison for failing to pay more than $3.5 million in taxes over seven years ending in 2024.
Joyce Leard, 54, pleaded guilty to failing to pay employment taxes on behalf of Mr. Tree Inc. The company advertised that it was in business for more than 20 years and employed 50 to 75 people each year.
Leard withheld taxes from her employees’ wages from 2017 to 2024 but did not pay the money to the Internal Revenue Service as required or file quarterly payroll tax returns, prosecutors said…