Surcharge contributed to the sound of new spots for the Kentucky distillery bison trackthe Max Factor cosmetics brand and the New York nonprofit Friends of the Highline.

Xponent21 was hired by Interior design solutions in Baltimore for national digital marketing, including advertising, social media strategy, and search engine optimization. The architectural films and finishes company also received a new website from the agency, which worked on the project with Baltimore agency Design Strength.

Anne-Stuart Teter

mackenzie wilson

addison clark promoted Anne-Stuart Teter and mackenzie wilson as account managers. They were both previously senior account managers.

Advice in the river town hiring Jessica Ellett as Marketing and Communications Director. She was previously an account executive at CBS 6 and has over 20 years of experience in radio, television, digital and print advertising.

release the dogs develop a brand image for The park at RVA, a multi-entertainment hall under construction in Richmond. The work has included a logo and other designs, and the agency is helping to name the venue’s restaurant concepts.

With a base with his headquarters in Houston, Rubi credits the city’s multicultural diversity and the business support for minority-owned small companies as the reason for settling and opening a business there. Do you also need a loan to open your business? Greendayonline offers quick $500 loans and many other loans with different amounts, so choose one of them and apply as soon as possible.

“Since the beginning, Houston has been such an open and welcoming community for minority small-business entrepreneurs,” Rubi said. “We have a lot of satisfaction in the fact that we can help others who are aspiring entrepreneurs. We’re inspired with the experiences we’ve heard from small- and local business owners who’ve been affected by our work with Multi Print USA.”

But, as with other small companies, Multi Print USA experienced declines in sales between 2020 because of the COVID-19 epidemic. 

The company was relying heavily on in-person sales when it first began; however, the widespread closings and shutdowns caused it to not carry on the business without having an online presence. Rubi took this as an occasion to decide to invest massively in e-commerce. This allowed him to create a nationwide customer base and accelerate his company’s expansion. This led to Multi Print USA successfully launching its website, e-commerce platform, and optimized web presence in May 2020 as an alternative to serve customers from all over the U.S.

THE WAY TO BECOMING A better business owner

Rubi had the pleasure of meeting Robert Hines, a Chase senior business consultant, at an online conference organized by the Houston Area Urban League. He was awed at the level of Hines and his work as a mentor for business, which is why Rubi sought out information about how Hines could benefit his company, particularly in the flow of cash and management of organizations.

With the new Chase program, Hines had a positive impact by aiding Rubi to discover his strengths – the speed of turnaround and satisfaction with customers and that it’s essential to make the right decisions to ensure the longevity of the business. In their relationship, Hines has already introduced Rubi to tools for managing cash flow and software devices and an accounting firm that will assist in the development of Multi Print America’s financial infrastructure in preparation for scaling.

As part of JPMorgan Chase’s $30 billion equity commitment to racial diversity, JPMorgan Chase’s new program will help promote the sustainable growth of entrepreneurs located in historically underserved neighborhoods. Through this program, small-scale business owners from 13 different cities in the U.S., including Houston, are connected to a Chase expert in business who can provide support services like mentoring, business development coaching, and financial planning resources. This program is open to all Chase customers as well as non-customers.

“One of the most important items I learned through Robert Hines was that great companies need leaders who are great,” Rubi said. “I have come to accept being more vulnerable in my business and to realize that I cannot manage everything on my own. It is essential to have strong partners. Chase has been one of them for us. This has meant that we’ve been able to turn our small-scale business in Texas into a brand that is recognized across the nation.”

Hines was attracted to Rubi and Multi Print USA due to its distinctiveness as a family-owned enterprise. He believes that businesses run by generations are vital for minority communities since they can create jobs and wealth generationally.

“We have a population in Houston along with across the nation that isn’t just underbanked but also unserved,” Hines said. “Multi Print America is an excellent example of what a legacy could look like if the right investments are made early. This is the kind of community we’re hoping to create.”

By Rick Cohler
Corresponding

SEYMOUR – Seymour bills itself as the “home of the burger,” and nothing goes better with a burger than a soda.

Well, you’re in luck, because Seymour is now home to both.

Soda Sense, a local company with national reach, employs 30 people and breathes new life into the old Shopko building along WI Highway 54.

Begin
It was an idea sparked by a meeting between Soda Sense CEO Mike Nelson and his friend Brandon Lotto, with the concept itself dating back nearly four years.

Lotto said his penchant for his home soda system inspired him to research potential options for refilling CO2 cartridges, instead of always having to buy new ones.

Enter Nelson, along with Dean Henrickson, Rob Ernest and several other Soda Sense investors.

But it wasn’t all easy.

Nelson said one of the first challenges the band faced was shipping.

“CO2 is regulated by the Department of Transportation (DOT) as a dangerous good.” said Nelson. “We spent months working with the DOT and the US Postal Service to obtain special permits allowing us to ship the product. One of the stipulations is that we can only ship by land, we cannot do airships.

Nelson said the carbon dioxide used is a byproduct of ethanol production.

He said the CO2 is trucked to Soda Sense where it is stored in a 30-ton storage tank outside the building and provides another benefit to corn growers in the Midwest.

The move to Seymour
After operating in Ashwaubenon for around a year, Nelson said a move to the vacant Seymour Shopko building seemed like the natural next step.

He said Seymour Mayor Ryan Kraft helped bring Soda Sense to Seymour and the town has been phenomenal to work with.

“We reached an agreement, remodeled the building and moved into the new facilities on January 1, 2021,” he said.

All the work done to prepare the interior of the building has also been devoted to the exterior.

Nelson said since Shopko closed the Seymour store in April 2019, the property’s landscaping and the building’s faded paint also needed attention.

“Image is very important to me; it’s one of my top priorities,” Nelson said.

The concept
As homemade soda connoisseurs themselves, Lotto said the endless headaches of late return fees, printing return labels, finding drop-off locations and constant retailer visits to the hope of a stock cartridge led them to think there had to be a better way – turns out there was.

Nelson said Soda Sense has created a way for people to have refills delivered to their homes.

“In doing so, we have created intellectual property for which we have a patent pending,” he said. “You have three cylinders and when you put your last cylinder in your machine, you put the other two in the exchange box and you put it in your mailbox. As soon as the post office scans that, they automatically bill you the refill charge, triggers the order and two or three days later the refills appear at your doorstep.

Nelson said customers have nicknamed it the “endless bubble program” because they never run out of gas.

“You don’t need to return to our website to order,” he said.

Nelson said so far so good, noting that Soda Sense has more than exceeded its three-year business plan.

The on-demand CO2 exchange company can only ship to 48 states due to the ground transportation requirement only; however, Nelson said they hope to add Alaska and Hawaii at some point.

Nelson said some Soda Sense products are currently sold in smaller stores in New York, San Francisco and Atlanta, and coffee shops in Sheboygan and Seymour are also using the service in their locations.

Nelson said they also just hired a traveling salesman to help grow this type of business.

“We want to develop partnerships with local small businesses because it’s a real business-to-business relationship,” he said.

Nelson said Soda Sense is also loyal to its employees, paying good wages and benefits and providing a welcoming workplace.

Nelson said he sees a bright future for Soda Sense by making Seymour as well-known a source in the home carbonation market as it is for the burger.

For more information, visit sodasense.com.

ATLANTA — Tamar Lee has been convicted of conspiring to submit false claims to the Internal Revenue Service.

“Defendants stole the personal identifying information of innocent victims, resulting in over $1 million in fraudulent refunds,” said U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “As we approach tax season, it’s important to protect personal information from thieves who use it for other schemes like the one in this case.”

“Lee and his co-conspirators have shown a flagrant disregard for the integrity of the United States tax system and have caused immeasurable hardship to innocent victims,” ​​said James E. Dorsey, Special Agent in Charge, IRS, Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “Let today’s sentencing be a warning to those who dare to commit identity theft and reimbursement fraud of this magnitude. They will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. IRS Criminal Investigation remains committed to prosecuting the identity theft and reimbursement fraud with our partners at the US Attorney’s Office.

According to US Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented to the court: Tamar Lee and her co-conspirator Don Terry obtained names and personally identifying information for individuals without their knowledge or consent. Many of the victims lived outside of Georgia, with some residing in shelters or in jail when tax returns were filed.

Lee and Terry provided the victims’ information to a now deceased co-conspirator, a local tax preparer with his own tax preparation business. The fraudulent US Personal Income Tax Form 1040 was prepared and filed electronically from the co-conspirator’s company. The tax returns included bogus W-2 forms listing employers for whom the victims did not work. They also claimed refunds based on false statements of federal income tax withholdings never remitted to the IRS.

The same tax preparer also used a refund transfer service, Refund Advantage, which allowed the co-conspirator to print refund checks at her place of business. When the IRS paid the refunds, the tax preparer printed the checks accordingly and gave them to Terry and Lee who then deposited them into bank accounts that Lee opened and checked. Lee paid the co-conspirators some of this proceeds.

Lee also used one of his existing companies to file fraudulent US Form 1120 tax returns that falsely claimed refunds based on bogus fuel tax credits. This credit allowed businesses to offset their tax payable based on certain fuel expenses incurred throughout the year. Lee’s business, however, never incurred such expenses and therefore did not qualify for the credit. The IRS then paid one of the requested refunds by depositing the funds into Lee’s bank account.

Lee, Terry and co-conspirator Jeffrey Smith were also part of a scheme to submit tax returns from fraudulent corporations that were making false claims. They provided the deceased preparer with information about other existing companies and the companies they formed for this scheme, which were used in the preparation and filing of fraudulent Form 1120 tax returns in the United States. These statements all falsely claimed refunds based on fuel tax credits to which the companies were not entitled. The IRS paid a portion of the requested refunds by sending Treasury checks to the addresses provided by Lee, Terry and Smith.

Overall, the tax evasion scheme resulted in more than $2 million in false claims over a three-and-a-half-year period. The IRS consequently issued over $1 million in refunds for fraudulently filed corporate and individual tax returns.

Tamar Lee, 53, of Smyrna, Georgia, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison, followed by three years of probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $306,316.22. Lee was found guilty by a jury on November 4, 2021.

Also convicted for their role in the tax evasion scheme:

• Jeffrey Smith was sentenced to three years and one month in prison, followed by three years of probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $695,191.
• Don Terry was sentenced to two years in prison followed by three years of probation and ordered to pay compensation of $1,332,115.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracia King and Brian Pearce prosecuted the case.

For more information, please contact the US Attorney’s Office of Public Affairs at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.