Architecture Firm Bookkeeper Pleads Guilty to Payroll Tax Fraud | OPA

A West Virginia woman pleaded guilty today to willfully failing to pay over to the IRS employment taxes withheld from employees’ wages.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Diann Clark was an office manager and bookkeeper at Alpha Associates, an architectural firm in Morgantown where she managed payroll between 2014 and 2018. Clark was responsible for collecting and paying over to the IRS Social Security, Medicare and income taxes withheld from the wages of Alpha Associates employees. Despite knowing the firm withheld payroll taxes from its employees’ paychecks, Clark did not pay over these taxes to the IRS. As a result, Clark caused a total tax loss of $1,986,410.

Clark is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date. She faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison, as well as 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 William J. Ihlenfeld II of the Northern District of West Virginia made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Kevin Schneider of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Danae DeMasi-Lemon of the Northern District of West Virginia are prosecuting the case.