A staffing executive faces tax fraud charges after not paying $67,000 in employment taxes, the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania reported.
The executive, Madeline Nieves, 48, of Plains, Pennsylvania, was incited by a federal grand jury earlier this month. Nieves has since pleaded innocent to the charges, according to court records.
Nieves was an operator and manager of Encore Staffing in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, according to court records.
The US Attorney’s Office reported Nieves was charged with 10 counts of failing to report Encore employee wages to the IRS between 2018 and 2020. In addition, she faces three counts of tax evasion for failing to report her own personal income from Encore.
Maximum penalty under federal law for each offense is five years in prison as well as a fine.
Indictments are only allegations; the case must still be heard by a court.
The US Attorney’s Office reported two others were previously convicted in the same investigation:
- Mark Holmes, 66, of Hughes Springs, Texas, pleaded guilty in December to failing to remit approximately $135,000 in employment taxes to the IRS that were owed by Encore Staffing, according to the US Attorney’s Office. Holmes also pleaded guilty to accepting, in his role as general manager of a Pennsylvania food services company, approximately $400,000 in bribes and kickbacks from two temporary staffing firms in exchange for hiring their employees. The two staffing firms — one of which was Penns Independent Staffing — received approximately $7.8 million from Holmes’ employer.
- Nari Lam, 29, of Wilmington, Delaware, pleaded guilty to failing to remit employment taxes to the IRS. Lam owned Penns Independent Staffing and failed to pay approximately $300,000 in employment taxes owed by the firm between 2016 and 2020, the US Attorney’s Office reported.