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DECATUR -- Internal Revenue Service agents on Thursday raided the corporate office of Decatur businessman Evan Knoll, whose enterprises include Torco Racing Fuels and Knoll Gas Motorsports, federal and local authorities said.
Stephen Moore, a spokesman for the criminal investigations division of the IRS, said federal agents executed a search warrant at Knoll's business office in downtown Decatur.
Moore said they also had a search warrant for a second location in Decatur but he would not say where. Moore would not say what the agents were looking for.
About 20 federal agents and deputies from the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office were involved in the operation, Moore said.
Van Buren County Undersheriff Paul Edwards said federal agents had an 8 a.m. briefing at the sheriff's department in Paw Paw before heading to the Knoll's business office, which is located at 201 S. George St. in Decatur.
Edwards said the IRS contacted his department Wednesday and asked the agency to provide a "uniformed presence" during the IRS action. The federal agents did not detail for local authorities what they hoped to confiscate or why.
The sheriff's deputies did not participate in the seizure of records, Edwards said.
Charles Gross, the acting U.S. attorney for the western district of Michgan, said Thursday that he could "neither confirm nor deny" that Knoll was under investigation.
The Gazette could not reach Knoll or his lawyer for comment.
Knoll, who is one of the biggest names in U.S. drag racing, and his businesses have been hit with three federal lawsuits since April 2007 alleging contract breaches.
In January, Torco announced it was withdrawing millions of dollars of sponsorships from a number of elite racing teams. Knoll recently stopped construction of a $2 million home in Decatur and several contractors have filed liens against the property for unpaid invoices.
Knoll has remained out of the public spotlight for a number of months and has cited lingering health issues related to a 2004 car crash for his absence.
Gazette staff writer Gabrielle Russon contributed to this report.