Single Shot owner Ruadhri McCormick gets 13 months in prison and owes $1,446,341 after withholding employee payroll taxes for a decade. (Photo: Single Shot Facebook)
SEATTLE, Wash. — A Seattle restaurant owner will spend 13 months in federal prison after keeping more than $1.4 million in employment taxes over a decade, including money withheld from employees’ paychecks that should have funded their Social Security and Medicare benefits.
Ruadhri McCormick, 44, owner and operator of Single Shot restaurant in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, also must serve three years of supervised release and pay $1,446,341 in restitution following his sentencing Monday in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Acting U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd announced the sentence. Federal investigators found that McCormick failed to pay employment taxes from 2014 through 2024 while spending the money on personal expenses, including a home remodel, casino gambling and travel.
“This offense involves a significant breach of public trust.”
— U.S. District Judge Kimberly K. Evanson
Evanson noted during sentencing that McCormick spent money on a home remodel, casino expenses and travel while failing to pay the required taxes.
Employees’ Paychecks Funded Unpaid Taxes
McCormick employed as many as 87 servers, bartenders and cooks at Single Shot between 2014 and 2024. During that period, he withheld payroll taxes from employees’ paychecks but failed to send the money to the Internal Revenue Service.
Federal authorities determined that McCormick failed to remit $1,027,362 in withheld payroll taxes over at least 36 quarterly reporting periods. He also failed to pay more than $400,000 in employer contributions for Social Security, Medicare and federal unemployment taxes.
The total tax loss reached $1,446,341, the same amount McCormick must repay in restitution.
The failure to remit withheld taxes has also affected employees’ Social Security records. Prosecutors said several workers’ earnings histories appear incomplete for years they worked at the restaurant, potentially reducing their future retirement benefits.
“Unfortunately, the employee’s Social Security work records now show gaps where they don’t have credit for the years they put in at McCormick’s restaurant.”
— Charles Neil Floyd, Acting U.S. Attorney
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Staniar sought a 15-month prison sentence, arguing in a sentencing memorandum that McCormick repeatedly chose not to pay taxes as they came due.
“Thirty-nine times McCormick’s quarterly taxes came due, and thirty-nine times he made the conscious decision not to pay them.”
— Lauren Staniar, Assistant U.S. Attorney
She also emphasized that employees received smaller paychecks because McCormick withheld money he was supposed to remit to the IRS on their behalf.
Money Spent on Home Remodel, Gambling and Travel
Investigators found that McCormick spent nearly $400,000 purchasing and remodeling a home on Vashon Island, nearly $125,000 on casino expenses and more than $38,000 on travel.
Floyd said McCormick diverted money intended to support employees’ future benefits to pay for the home remodel.
The case also involved McCormick’s personal income tax filings. Under his plea agreement, he admitted that he failed to file personal income tax returns for every tax year from 2015 through 2024.
The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation division investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Watts Staniar prosecuted it.
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