Georgia Business Owner Withholds Millions in Payroll Taxes from Employee Checks, Doesn’t Pay the IRS
White owned and operated two construction, maintenance and electrical companies called I-Barr Construction, Inc. and T-Line Construction, LLC, between 2012 and 2019. Based on details provided by White’s indictment, T-Line Construction was registered under his wife’s name and operated from Texas to Georgia. This company had around 100 employees, but he failed to make necessary tax payments, which led to his first indictment in March 2023. Later, a deeper investigation by the IRS uncovered additional failures to file and pay taxes under the auspices of his other company, Georgia-based I-Barr Construction.
From 2015 to 2018, White withheld over $1.8 million in payroll taxes from his employees but never remitted these funds to the IRS, prosecutors said. He also neglected to pay more than $600,000 in Social Security and federal unemployment taxes.
“Employment tax evasion is stealing from the government and the American taxpayer,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office, after sentencing.
“Business owners are entrusted to collect and turn over IRS withholding taxes; not doing so may affect employees’ future social security and Medicare benefits. Investigating employment tax fraud is very important to IRS Criminal Investigation. Our special agents will work hard to ensure those who engage in this criminal activity are held accountable”, added Hardeman.
U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said that “payroll taxes fund important social programs:
“Payroll taxes fund important social insurance programs, including Social Security and Medicare. White refused to pay payroll taxes after withholding those funds from his employees’ paychecks for years – stealing from his employees and United States taxpayers. Employers who fail to comply with their legal obligations will be held accountable.”
Lee White pleaded guilty on May 7, 2024.
This is not the only recent high-profile tax fraud case. Andrew Park, a 49-year-old man from Bedford, N.H., pleaded guilty in July 2024 for not paying more than $14 million in employment taxes and not filing personal tax returns, according to previous coverage by The Daily Muck.
Between 2014 and the summer of 2021, Park withheld federal, state and local taxes from the employee’s wages but didn’t pay them as required by the law, even though a payroll service company hired to process the employees’ payroll notified him regularly that the taxes were due.
Reporting Tax Fraud
If you suspect something isn’t quite right with your employer’s handling of payroll or other taxes, you should consider reporting it to avoid future headaches, including a potential deduction in your social security benefits.
You can report suspected tax fraud to the IRS by calling them or using one of the forms on this page.
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