False or fraudulent return, statement - penalty

(1) It is unlawful for any retailer or vendor to refuse to make any return required to be made in this part 1 or to make any false or fraudulent return or false statement on any return, or fail and refuse to make payment to the executive director of the department of revenue of any taxes collected or due the state, or in any manner evade the collection and payment of the tax, or any part thereof, or for any person or purchaser to fail or refuse to pay such tax, or evade the payment thereof, or to aid or abet another in any attempt to evade the payment of the tax.

(2) A person willfully violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a class 5 felony and shall be punished as provided in section 18-1.3-401. A corporation willfully making a false return or a return willfully containing a false statement is guilty of a class 5 felony and shall be punished as provided in section 18-1.3-401. A court of competent jurisdiction of the county in which the offender resides, or, if a corporation, then the county of its principal place of business, has jurisdiction to enforce this section.

(3) In addition to the foregoing penalties, any person who knowingly and willfully swears to or verifies any false statement commits a class 2 misdemeanor.