We previously posted IRS CONTINUES to Criminally Prosecutes Employers For Failure To Pay Withheld Payroll Taxes - As Promised! where we discussed that the IRS is stepping up criminally prosecuting business owners for failing to turn over withheld payroll taxes.
Now according to the DoJ, a federal grand jury in Atlanta, Georgia, returned an indictment on April 13, 2021 charging a Georgia man with failing to pay employment taxes and with obstructing the collection efforts of the IRS.
According to the indictment, from 2009 through 2018, Douglas Mittleider, of Adairsville, was in charge of several long-term care facilities located throughout the United States, and was responsible for withholding and paying employment taxes on behalf of his employees.
Notwithstanding his obligations, Mittleider allegedly did not fully pay over these withholdings, resulting in an outstanding balance of more than $10,000,000 being owed to the IRS. From approximately November 2011 to the present, Mittleider allegedly attempted to obstruct IRS efforts to collect employment taxes that were due by filing false employment tax returns and directing payment of corporate funds to his family members instead of to the IRS.
The defendant’s initial court appearance will be scheduled at a later date in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of three years (3) in prison on the obstruction charge and five (5) years in prison on each of the other charges. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Read more at: Tax Times blog