For nearly four years, newly-elected Shelby County Commissioner Will Richardson II submitted falsified tax returns to the State of Tennessee and withheld sales tax revenue from the state, an indictment obtained by The Commercial Appeal alleged.
Richardson was indicted on Aug. 25 on two counts of falsifying state revenue tax records, a Class E felony, tied to one of his businesses. A warrant for his arrest was issued on Sept. 8 and he was arrested on Sept. 9, records show. His bail was set at $40,000, which he has since posted.
Memphis police made the arrest, according to the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.
According to the indictment, Richardson falsified tax records between Dec. 31, 2020 and Sept. 1, 2024 for Fat Charlie's Speakeasy, a bar located
in Harbor Town.
It was not clear from the indictment how much money Richardson is accused of withholding from the state.
Richardson is the second actively-serving member of the Shelby County Commission to be charged with a crime since the most recent election cycle ended. About a month ago, Commissioner Erika Sugarmon was charged with misdemeanor vandalism for allegedly stealing campaign signs.
The Shelby County District Attorney's Office has recused itself from both cases, despite Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy's signature being on Richardson's indictment. With the recusal, the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference will appoint a pro tem prosecutor for the case.
Richardson does not currently have an arraignment date set in the Shelby County criminal justice portal.
Richardson, a Democrat, was sworn in as District 8's commissioner on Aug. 31. He replaced now-county Mayor Mickell Lowery after winning 81% of the vote in the Aug. 6 general election. The morning of his arrest, Sept. 9, he attended his first slate of Shelby County Commission committee meetings as a commissioner.
He was elected as the vice chair of the Shelby County Democratic Party in 2025 and is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
Richardson refers to himself as "serial entrepreneur," and owns Fat Charlie's Speakeasy in Harbor Town and WR Community Services LLC, a homecare agency that operates in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi.
The Tennessee Secretary of State's website lists WR Community Services as being in good standing, but the company that holds Fat Charlie's registration changed to "inactive - dissolved (administrative)" on Aug. 20.
The lone witness who appeared on the grand jury witness list was a member of the Tennessee Department of Revenue.
Read the indictment
Lucas Finton covers crime, policing, jails, the courts and criminal justice policy for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by phone or email: (901)208-3922 and Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, and followed on X @LucasFinton.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Here's what Shelby County Commissioner Will Richardson's indictment said
