Lake City man on probation for defrauding business owner arrested for failing to make payments to victim, evading apprehension, and failing to remit $26k in sales tax

Staff report

HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. – Cory Dalton Howard, 32, was arrested on Wednesday for violating his probation sentence from a 2020 case that involved a “systematic, ongoing course of conduct with the intent to defraud” an automotive repair business in Alachua. He was also charged with violating his release conditions on charges of failing to remit over $26,000 in sales tax to the State and failing to file six consecutive tax returns.

Howard was originally charged with defrauding Alachua business owner out of $16,000

The original sworn complaint, filed in June 2020, alleges that Howard was hired as a mechanic by Alachua Tire & Brake between June and August 2019. During this time, Howard was also reportedly working for C&C Tires Plus, his High Springs company. In June 2019, Howard fraudulently authorized a payment of $8k from Alachua Tire & Brake to C&C Tires Plus; the transfer forced the owner of Alachua Tire & Brake to make monthly payments to pay off that debt. The owner of Alachua Tire & Brake also reportedly found several transactions on the company debit card that she had not authorized, and she said Howard had the debit card when the transactions were made.

The owner of Alachua Tire & Brake reportedly confronted Howard about the transactions, and Howard reportedly said he would pay her back, but he never did. 

After Howard stopped working at Alachua Tire & Brake, the owner reportedly found that her accounts with several vendors had been maxed out and that an account with another vendor had been opened without her authorization. She also said that several customers told her they had paid their bills in cash to Howard, but Howard never gave her the money. She also said she had given Howard a check to pay her rent, but she later found out that he cashed the check and kept the money; in addition, she said she had given Howard a check to purchase used cars, but she never received the cars.

Howard was charged with grand theft and scheme to defraud the owner of Alachua Tire & Brake, and he entered a plea of nolo contendere to both charges. According to the plea agreement, the maximum sentence for the charges was 10 years in prison, but Judge Phillip Pena accepted a plea deal that withheld adjudication of guilt and sentenced Howard to five years of probation with a requirement that he pay $16k in restitution to the owner of Alachua Tire & Brake.

Howard failed to make required payments to the victim

Howard’s probation officer reported that he violated his probation in February 2023 by failing to make required monthly restitution payments of $750 to the owner of Alachua Tire & Brake. As of February 2023, he was $3,000 behind on the payments. The violation report notes: “This violation is willful as the subject does work, has been instructed multiple times to make payments towards restitution, and the subject regularly seeks travel permits and takes multiple trips out of state for extended weekends as well as works full time.” The probation officer also reported that Howard had not completed any community service hours in lieu of unpaid court costs and had been late in required calls to his probation officer. A warrant for Howard’s arrest was issued in February 2023, and he was arrested on the warrant on February 16, 2023, in Columbia County and released on $3,000 bail. 

In April 2023, Judge James Colaw modified Howard’s probation to require him to make $3,000 in restitution payments within 21 days and pay $300 monthly to the victim. Judge Colaw noted that if Howard fell more than 60 days behind on payments, a violation would occur.

Columbia County arrest

In October 2023, Howard’s probation officer reported another probation violation, stating that Howard had been arrested in Columbia County for grand theft. Howard was charged with passing a worthless check of $12,707.50 after purchasing items at an auction in September 2022. The Columbia County investigation found that Howard repeatedly promised to pay the auction company, but he never paid. A warrant for Howard’s arrest was issued for violation of probation on October 25, 2023, by Judge Phillip Pena, with no bond.

Failure to report to probation officer from October 2023 to January 2024

In January 2024, another violation report was filed, alleging that Howard had failed to report to his probation officer since October, had changed his residence without notifying his probation officer, and was $900 behind on the restitution payments. The report notes that Howard “is willfully attempting to evade apprehension, and his current whereabouts is unknown.”

Second Columbia County arrest

Another violation report was filed on May 6, after Howard was arrested on May 2 in Columbia County on a new charge of grand theft for allegedly receiving $5,800 to repair or replace a transmission on a truck, but he never performed the services or returned the money. 

Sentenced to 15 years probation in Columbia County

On May 15, Howard was sentenced to five years of probation on two grand theft cases and 15 concurrent years of probation on a third grand theft case. He was also ordered to pay over $37,000 in restitution, with a minimum monthly payment of $250 in each case. One condition of his probation is that he is trespassed from any establishment where the primary business is the sale of alcohol, including all bars and liquor stores. 

Failure to remit sales tax

Meanwhile, a sworn complaint was filed in December 2021, alleging that Howard’s High Springs business C&C Tires Plus, d/b/a Turn 4 Auto Sales, had failed to file six consecutive sales tax returns between August 2019 and July 2021 and collected $26,924.19 in sales tax from customers that he did not remit to the State. Formal charges were filed in July 2023, and a warrant for Howard’s arrest was issued on July 20, 2023, with bail set at $20,000. Howard was arrested in Gilchrist County on July 24, 2023, and posted $20,000 bail. After the October 2023 charges were filed in Columbia County, a warrant for Howard’s arrest for violating his release conditions was issued by Judge Pena, with bail set at $50,000. 

Sworn complaint for swindling an elderly woman

Another sworn complaint was filed in March 22 by High Springs Police Department, charging Howard with swindling a 76-year-old woman out of $20,000. The charges were later dropped.

Booked in Alachua County on May 22

Howard was booked into the Alachua County Jail on May 22 for violating probation in the 2020 case and violating his release conditions in the 2021 case. 

Howard has six felony convictions (none violent) and is facing three more cases in Columbia County and one in Alachua County. He is on probation in three different cases in Alachua and Columbia counties. Judge Jonathan Ramsey set bail at $50,000 in the 2021 case and ordered him held without bail for violating probation in the 2020 case. 

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.