A business owner facing dozens of misdemeanor counts of tax evasion involving his Cherry Township convenience store is slated to appear in court Wednesday.

The office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has charged Randy S. Armagost with multiple counts of tax evasion. The 53-year-old Boyers man faces 62 misdemeanor counts accounting for $41,044.81 in unpaid taxes from his business, the Annandale Country Station in Hilliards, according to the criminal complaint.

Armagost is a director serving on the Moniteau School Board. He is seeking re-election to his seat, having passed through the May 21 primary election. The charges are unrelated to his position with the district.

In an interview Tuesday, Armagost said he has continued to cooperate with investigators and the attorney general's office. He said he hopes to resolve the issue before a scheduled July 9 preliminary hearing before District Judge Lewis Stoughton in Chicora.

“That's why we should be able to get this settled,” Armagost said. “Back taxes is all it is. I'm trying to make a deal with them to get paid.”

Armagost is expected to appear before Stoughton at 11 a.m. Wednesday for his preliminary arraignment.

“This is everyday life. This is running a business,” he said. “I'm trying to do everything I can to take care of my responsibilities.”

The complaint alleges Armagost failed to pay his back taxes for various periods of time between 2014 and 2018 as documented by numerous citations for continuing to sell restricted goods despite revoked licenses due to unpaid taxes.

This included selling cigarettes with a revoked tobacco sales license and selling taxable items with a revoked sales tax license.

According to the complaint, Heather Underwood, a special investigator for the Tobacco Enforcement Division, visited Annandale Country Station 10 times between 2009 and 2018. She cited Armagost seven times for selling cigarettes with a revoked license.

The complaint said at one point between February and May of 2018, Armagost told Underwood he was selling the business.

The complaint said Armagost was aware of his tax troubles throughout his interactions with Underwood.

“He told her that sometimes he had to choose between his home and his business,” Underwood said. “She later learned that he took his family on a vacation out of the country shortly after he made that statement.”

The complaint said over this time period, Colin O'Malley, an agent for Revenue Enforcement Collections, Bureau of Collections and Taxpayer Services, also visited Armagost's business four times.

According to the complaint, O'Malley tried to help Armagost, while citing him three times for continuing to sell taxable items without a sales tax license.

“On one occasion, Armagost told O'Malley that he knows he owes the taxes, however he fell behind because his accounting is a mess, but he will get it taken care of,” the complaint said.

During their interviews, both Underwood and O'Malley said Armagost attempted multiple times to enroll in payment plans to rectify his back taxes, but the applications failed because Armagost failed to make payments.

According to the complaint, investigators also talked with Melody Kamerer of Hudson Business Services. Kamerer told investigators she was contracted by Armagost in the past to assist with corporate tax, year-end payroll information and preparing W-2s for employees of the business.

“She asked Armagost in the past if he would like her to start preparing the sales tax or employer withholding tax returns for him, and he told her, 'No, I've got it,'” the complaint said. According to the complaint, Kamerer told investigators Armagost first told her about the back taxes in spring of 2018.

The complaint said Kamerer believes Armagost to be a “good guy” and that his problems unfortunately may have been avoided if he reached out to her.

Armagost echoed these sentiments in his own interview with investigators.

According to the complaint, Armagost has been trying to sell the business since 2018, and he did not know how far behind he was in his business taxes.

According to the complaint, he said he had not taken a salary in the past four years, and whenever he received letters about the company's taxes, the numbers were always changing. He told investigators that confused him.

“Armagost did not seek the advice of others for his conduct for the period outlined in the investigation, though he thinks he should have, looking back on it,” the complaint said. “He made a mistake and he is embarrassed about it.”