In Happy Valley, business owner Joyce Leard of Mr. Tree Inc. was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison after a judge found she diverted payroll taxes to buy about $3.5 million in real estate instead of paying the Internal Revenue Service. At a hearing on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut ordered Leard to surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service on April 2, and prosecutors said the scheme caused more than $1.5 million in tax losses.
Prosecutors say withheld payroll taxes funded property purchases
Leard pleaded guilty in June 2025 to failing to pay employment taxes, admitting she collected and withheld Social Security, Medicare and federal income taxes from workers but did not remit those funds to the IRS. Instead, prosecutors say, she used business bank accounts to buy property titled in her own name rather than file quarterly payroll tax returns and pay what was due. Those details are laid out in a public release from the Justice Department about the plea and investigation.
Judge rejects incompetence defense and sets surrender date
At sentencing, Judge Immergut was blunt about the defense’s attempt to frame Leard as overwhelmed by her own business. The judge told the courtroom that “the fact that she was 'incompetent in her job' to me is not a legitimate excuse to carry the day to get out of prison.” She imposed a 15-month prison term, ordered Leard to pay the remaining restitution and set the April 2, 2026 surrender date.
Prosecutors had asked for about 2½ years behind bars and roughly $2.9 million in restitution. Defense lawyers pushed for home detention paired with mental-health treatment instead, saying Leard has long struggled with a personality disorder and severe disorganization, as reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
How prosecutors say the scheme unfolded
According to court filings, Leard withheld payroll taxes and failed to file quarterly payroll tax returns from the fourth quarter of 2018 through the fourth quarter of 2020. During that stretch, prosecutors say, she used business funds to purchase about $3.5 million in real estate instead of paying the IRS, producing an estimated tax loss to the government of more than $1.5 million. Those figures are described in a public statement from the Justice Department about the case.
Company profile and local ties
Mr. Tree Inc. is a tree removal and landscaping operation based in Happy Valley that advertises a local service yard and landscape-supply location and has served the Portland metro area for years. Prosecutors say the business employed roughly 50 to 75 people annually during the period in question, which helped make the unpaid payroll-tax obligations significant. The company’s public site lists its Happy Valley locations and contact information on the Mr. Tree website.
What the law says
Willfully failing to collect or pay over payroll taxes is a federal felony under 26 U.S.C. § 7202 and carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and possible fines. Judges also routinely order restitution and supervised release in such cases, and the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines provide the framework for calculating a sentence based on the tax loss. For the statute and sentencing framework, see 26 U.S.C. § 7202 and related guidance from the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
Leard’s surrender date is April 2, 2026; the court will handle the logistics of restitution and supervised release as part of the judgment. The case lands as a pointed reminder that payroll taxes, which fund programs such as Social Security and Medicare, are treated as a high priority by federal prosecutors when employers or other responsible parties divert those funds instead of paying them over.
