A 66-year-old Canton man who ran a heavy-truck diagnostics business now faces ten felony charges after prosecutors say he skipped five straight years of state income tax filings and payments and failed to report more than $3.5 million in taxable income. Ted John Lord is accused of failing to file individual income tax returns and willfully failing to pay income tax from 2020 through 2024, racking up a debt authorities say has ballooned past $600,000.
The Fillmore County Attorney's Office filed the charges, which the Minnesota Department of Revenue announced on September 24. According to the Minnesota Department of Revenue, Lord faces five counts of failing to file state individual income tax returns and five counts of willfully failing to pay income tax, all felonies under state law. As reported by WJON, each felony count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.
How a Small-Town Business Generated Millions
Trukk Scan Support Services LLC was Lord's business. The business earned accreditation from the Better Business Bureau in December 2022, per the state agency's business profile on file with the bureau. It was through this enterprise, prosecutors say, that Lord earned the taxable income he failed to report.
WJON reported that returns failed to report more than $3.5 million in income from 2020 through 2024, with initial state income tax liabilities of approximately $331,000. Compounding interest and statutory non-filing penalties then pushed the total balance owed past $600,000, the same report notes. WJON's account of the case, which underpins much of the reporting on the financial figures, indicates the penalties nearly doubled the underlying tax debt over the five-year period.
Prosecutors Point to Business Paperwork as Proof of Intent
A central question in any case like this is how prosecutors move a tax offense from a gross misdemeanor up to a felony. Under Minnesota Statute Section 289A.63, a knowing failure to file or pay, rather than an accidental, inadvertent, or negligent failure, is a gross misdemeanor, while a willful attempt to evade or defeat tax obligations is a felony, according to FindLaw's summary of the statute. The court opinion distinguishes knowing conduct from accidental, inadvertent, or negligent failure and discusses willfulness.
To make that case, investigators cited Lord's formal registration of Trukk Scan Support Services LLC and his assignment of a Federal Employer Identification Number as evidence he understood his state and federal tax obligations. Investigators say Lord admitted during questioning that he was aware he had not filed tax returns, according to the state's announcement. Prosecutors also noted he failed to file returns reporting more than $3.5 million in income.
A Tiny Border Town, a Multimillion-Dollar Operation
Canton lies along U.S. Highway 52. The town had a population of just 310 at the 2020 census, per the U.S. Census Bureau. A case involving more than $3.5 million in unreported income centered on the small town.
Lord has previously appeared in Fillmore County legal records. He was arrested on a felony charge in Prosper in July 2020 for third-degree controlled substance possession involving methamphetamine, according to the Fillmore County Journal.
Part of a Statewide Crackdown
Much of the department's enforcement work begins with public tips; the agency maintains a toll-free, 24-hour hotline and email system for anonymous reporting of suspected tax evasion.
A separate Minnesota tax case in 2026 involved a St. Joseph tax preparer facing 13 felony counts, as Hoodline previously reported. It remains an open question whether federal tax authorities will pursue parallel charges against Lord over the unreported income.
