Funeral home owner arrested for tax evasion

The head of the largest locally owned funeral home north of the Tennessee River has been arrested and charged with tax evasion.

Cade Coulter Williamson, the 41-year-old president of Legacy Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Soddy-Daisy who also bought the Wann Funeral Home in Chattanooga in 2013, is facing 14 felony counts of tax evasion, according to an announcement Wednesday from the Tennessee Department of Revenue.

A Hamilton County Grand Jury indicted Williamson on the Cass E felony charges and he was arrested Monday. The bond was set at $10,000.

In an announcement of the indictment, state officials said Williamson could be sentenced to a maximum of two years in the state penitentiary and fined up to $3,000 for each count of tax evasion, if convicted.

Revenue special agents arrested Williamson at the funeral home. The Revenue Department is pursuing the criminal case in cooperation with Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston’s office.

“The Department of Revenue promotes voluntary taxpayer compliance by educating taxpayers, aggressively pursuing criminal sanctions and demanding accountability when taxpayers engage

in fraudulent activity,” Revenue Commissioner David Gerregano said in a statement today. “This indictment underscores the Department’s ongoing efforts to enforce Tennessee’s tax laws.”

According to the Legacy Funeral Home website, Williamson is a fifth generation funeral service professional and owner of Legacy Funeral Home & Cremation Center and Wann Funeral Home & Cremation Center. He received his degree in Mortuary Science from John A. Gupton College in Nashville.

Williamson is a past master and member of Daisy Lodge #706 F&AM, Selected Independent Funeral Homes, The National Funeral Directors Association and The Tennessee Independent Funeral Group. He and his wife, Shawn, are members of Dallas Bay Baptist Church.