Payroll
Oklahoma Man Pleads Guilty to Employment Tax Scheme
Pleaded guilty to filing a Form 941 for the first quarter of 2016, but not paying over approximately $31,010 in taxes withheld from employees’ paychecks.
Feb. 08, 2023
An Oklahoma man pleaded guilty yesterday to willfully failing to pay employment taxes withheld from his employees’ wages. According to court documents, Donald E. White was the president and owner of Power Utility Services, Inc., in Adair, Oklahoma.
From January 2010 through December 2017, White exercised control over the business’s affairs by (1) tracking the hours worked by employees, (2) directing the issuance of weekly paychecks to employees, (3) directing the issuance of Forms W-2 to employees, (4) directing the filing with the IRS of Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Returns (Forms 941) reporting wages paid and income and social security taxes withheld from employees’ wages and (5) directing the payment to the IRS of the withheld taxes.
White filed a Form 941 for the first quarter of 2016, but intentionally did not pay over approximately $31,010 in taxes withheld from employees’ paychecks. White also did not pay withholdings for multiple quarters between October 2009 and December 2017. In total, he caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $516,021.
White faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Defendant also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division; and U.S. Attorney Clinton J. Johnson for the Northern District of Oklahoma made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.