'Haunting Experience' Owner Committed Tax Crimes: Prosecutors

COTTAGE GROVE, MN — A Woodbury man who runs a Halloween attraction and a garden center has been charged in Washington County with eight felony-level tax crimes, the Minnesota Department of Revenue announced Friday.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.

William Joseph Zywiec is the operator of both the Zywiec Garden and Landscape Center and of the Haunting Experience, both located in Cottage Grove, authorities said.

Several times between March 2019 and March 2022, Zywiec either filed sales tax returns he knew were false or failed to file sales tax returns altogether, according to investigators.

Point-of-sale records for both the landscaping business and the Haunting Experience showed multiple instances where sales tax was either not collected on taxable transactions or was underreported, authorities said.

Zywiec owes over $215,000 in taxes, penalties, and interest, according to investigators.