Former Utah movie producer indicted on tax evasion, accused of occupying seized home

A Utah man and former movie producer was indicted on federal charges that accuse him of not paying more than $1 million in taxes and “forcibly” retaking his Cedar Hills home after it was seized to pay his debt.

Paul Kenneth Cromar did not file any federal income tax returns or pay any tax from 1999 through 2005, according to the indictment, unsealed Aug. 31. Cromar previously operated Blue Moon Productions LLC, a freelance film and media production company, and — under the name Ken Cromar — has a handful of credits, including as a writer on the animated films “All Dogs Go to Heaven” (1989) and “The Princess and the Pea” (2002); and as a production coordinator on “An American Tale” (1986) and “The Land Before Time” (1988).

In 2005, the IRS conducted an audit and assessed Cromar with $703,266.96 in taxes, interest and penalties. After he failed to make any payments on that debt, a federal judge in 2019 ordered that his home be sold at auction, with the proceeds going toward his tax debt. That same year, he and his wife, Barbara Ann Cromar, were evicted from the home, which was then sold.

The indictment states that Cromar tried to stop the sale of his home by filing bogus documents, including a false promissory note; intimidating potential purchasers; and harassing IRS personnel by filing frivolous lawsuits against them.

The indictment also states that Cromar, a former member of the Cedar Hills City Council, broke into his home — along with members of an “armed militia,” according to a related state criminal case — and occupied it for eight months, “fortifying it with weapons, sandbags and wooden boards tactically placed throughout the house.”

In 2020, the Cromars were arrested on felony charges of burglary and wrongful appropriation; they were found guilty in 2022, state court records show.

The federal indictment alleges that Cromar’s total debt to the IRS now amounts to $1,174,201.91. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for tax evasion, three years for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the IRS, and two years for forcibly retaking seized property.

According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI assisted in locating and apprehending Cromar, who had been a fugitive from justice after his 2022 burglary conviction.