Couple charged with tax evasion, accused of not reporting business income.

S.C. Department of Revenue agents this week arrested a North Carolina couple and charged them with two counts of tax evasion and two counts of failure to file a state tax return or pay a tax related to a business they operated in Spartanburg County.

Natalia Sokil, 46, of Tryon, N.C., was the owner and operator of ESF Management, doing business as European Market LLC, in Spartanburg County. The specialty grocery store had multiple locations in other Upstate counties as well. Andrej Sokil, 54, also of Tryon, worked and lived in Spartanburg during the time under investigation, according to a news release from the Revenue Department.

In 2017 and 2018, the couple filed joint Individual Income Tax returns but failed to include her business income of $2,707,322, the department alleges. The couple owed $19,010 in state taxes for tax years 2017and 2018. They also failed to file returns for tax years 2019 and 2020, during which an investigation found they had taxable income of $1.4 million, the news release said. They owe state taxes of $29,409 for tax years 2019 and 2020.

Natalia Sokil also was charged with two counts of operating without a retail license. Warrants allege agents purchased items at two Inman stores in January 2021 and sales tax was charged, though the business did not have a valid license, according to the release. She previously was convicted of operating without a retail license...