AUGUSTA — Seth Wescott, the two-time Olympic gold medalist from Carrabassett Valley, recently faced arrest on criminal charges of failure to pay thousands of dollars in state income taxes over a five-year period.

A warrant was out for Wescott’s arrest for about one day, after he failed to appear for a hearing on 10 misdemeanor charges Feb. 15 in Augusta District Court, according to court records.

The charges were dropped after Wescott came to court a day later with an attorney.

“I recognized that my taxes were not up to date,” Wescott said in a brief statement released Friday by his attorney, Stephen Langsdorf. “I take full responsibility for that.”

The state charged Wescott, 35, with five counts of failure to pay Maine income taxes and five counts of failure to make and file Maine income tax returns. The charges spanned the tax years 2006 through 2010.

A notation on a court document indicated that Wescott owed about $42,000 in back taxes. Langsdorf disputed that amount Friday and said Wescott owed less, but he wouldn’t provide a figure or say whether all of the money was paid.

“We have an agreement with the Maine Revenue Service, and things have been fully resolved with the state,” Langsdorf said. “This all really resulted from miscommunication.”

Langsdorf said Wescott has had no federal tax problems.

Wescott, who trains at the Sugarloaf Mountain Resort in Carrabassett Valley, won the Olympic gold medal in snowboardcross in Vancouver in 2010, and in the sport’s Olympic debut in Turin, Italy, in 2006.

The criminal complaint against Wescott was filed with the court on Jan. 5.

On Jan. 19, Wescott tore a pectoral muscle during the Snowboardcross World Cup in Veysonnaz, Switzerland. He was hospitalized for the season-ending injury and had surgery in Vail, Colo.

Wescott appeared in court on Feb. 16, the day after the arrest warrant was issued, and posted $2,500 cash bail set by Judge Beth Dobson, according to records.

“When I returned to Maine, I immediately took all necessary steps to take care of the situation,” Wescott said in his statement on Friday. “I’m pleased this is now behind me.”

Gregg Bernstein, the assistant attorney general who prosecuted the case, filed a dismissal of the charges with the court on Feb. 17, writing that the case was “being handled civilly.”

The court then returned Wescott’s bail money.

“Subsequent to the filing of the criminal charges, we obtained information that showed this was a civil case, not a criminal one,” Bernstein said Friday. “It will be handled through the civil enforcement division of Maine Revenue Services, as are all civil matters.”

Bernstein declined further comment, saying Maine law prevents the state from releasing information about tax cases beyond what appears in court filings or occurs in court.

Information on Maine Revenue Services’ website says penalties are assessed for late tax filings and late payments, but court records do not indicate whether Wescott was assessed any penalties.

It’s relatively unusual for tax cases to appear in criminal court.

“As a general matter, all cases are pursued civilly,” Bernstein said, “and only if civil efforts are unsuccessful are they considered for possible criminal prosecution.”

Kennebec Journal Staff Writer Betty Adams can be contacted at 621-5631 or at:

badams@centralmaine.com