A whistleblower who is now the governor’s communications director has been granted the right to intervene in a tax dispute involving Permarch Guam Inc., following Superior Court Judge Elyze Iriarte’s ruling on Aug. 25.
The decision establishes that a $150,000 payment made by Permarch to the Department of Revenue and Taxation is directly linked to information provided by John Ryan and could impact his entitlement to recovered proceeds.
Melissa Lizama, in her official capacity as tax commissioner of the Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation, is named as a respondent in the special proceeding initiated by Permarch to contest the assessment of alcohol taxes and penalties.
The order formally adds Territory of Guam ex rel. John Ryan as an intervenor defendant in the action brought by Permarch against Lizama.
Ryan filed lawsuits in 2019 and 2020 against Carson Guam, Permarch Guam Inc., and Titan Imports under the False Claims and Whistleblower Act, which empowers private citizens to pursue uncollected taxes on behalf of the government of Guam.
These cases were filed in the Superior Court of Guam and were recently unsealed after both the Office of the Attorney General and DRT declined to take action.
According to the complaints, Ryan uncovered that certain alcohol wholesalers were not paying taxes on imported alcohol after reviewing sales receipts provided to retail stores. He alleged that distributors sold alcohol for amounts below or nearly equal to the taxes owed. The...
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