Colorado Home Health Care Owner Charged with Employment Tax Crimes

A federal grand jury in Denver returned an indictment yesterday charging a Colorado woman with willfully failing to account for and pay over employment taxes for several years.

According to the indictment, Shandel Arkadie, of Agate, operated a home health care business, Alternative Choice Home Care Nursing LLC (ACHCN). From at least 2015 through 2020, ACHCN allegedly withheld income, Social Security and Medicare taxes from its employees’ wages. Arkadie allegedly did not timely file ACHCN’s quarterly employment tax returns or pay the withholdings to the IRS, despite being legally required to do so. Arkadie is alleged to have caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $500,000.

If convicted, Arkadie faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each employment tax count. 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 made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Julia Rugg and Mahana Weidler of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.