St. Croix radio magnate Jonathan Cohen pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges, and Assistant Attorney General Denise George-Counts withdrew her motion for sanctions against former Attorney General Terri Griffiths, during a June 3 U.S. District Court hearing.
Cohen, sole owner of JKC Communications, Clara Communications and Radio 95, was arrested in April 2014 on 21 counts relating to failure to file and pay corporate and individual income taxes on more than $10 million in revenues. (See Related Links below) Through JKC Communications, Cohen owns the radio stations Isle 95, Mongoose 104.9 FM, Sunny 99.5 FM, AM 970 WSTX and WSTX FM 100.
George-Counts entered a plea agreement with Cohen on May 12, but Griffiths withdrew it after it was signed and tried to remove George-Counts from the case. Cohen cried foul, and George-Counts agreed, filing a motion for sanctions against Griffiths. Shortly afterward, Gov. Kenneth Mapp replaced Griffiths with Judge James Carroll and George-Counts said the plea agreement was back on.
On May 22, George-Counts filed a motion for sanctions against Griffiths, saying Griffiths’ claims that the plea was unauthorized are false.
On May 26, Gov. Kenneth Mapp removed Griffiths from the post of acting attorney general, replacing her with Carroll.
At a June 3 hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge George Cannon, George-Counts filed a revised complaint against Cohen, charging him with two misdemeanors: one for failing to file or pay income tax and one for the same offense with gross receipts taxes. She also verbally withdrew the motion for sanctions, according to court documents. Cohen’s sentencing is set for Sept. 25 at 9 a.m. in U.S. District Court on St. Croix.
