Kelowna

Kelowna jewellery store owner Heather Haworth has pled guilty to one count of making false deceptive statements under the tax act.

The charge dates back to August 2004, and claims Haworth withheld more than $200,000 in provincial sales taxes.

Haworth appeared in a Kelowna Court room Monday morning dressed in a sleek black outfit to also plead guilty on behalf of her company.

There are still two more counts against Haworth and the company for failing to comply with the Social Service Tax Act and for evading compliance or payment of taxes.

A date has been set for July 3 to discuss a disposition, which will be a fine.

The provincial tax authority apparently opened the investigation into Haworth after a company accountant came forward with allegations of fraud.

The accountant, hired in March, 2009, says he quit after just three months on the job.

He complained that Haworth was directing the bookkeeper to under-report sales figures to avoid paying the full amount of provincial sales tax.