Maryland Business Owner Pleads Guilty for Failing to Pay Employment Taxes

WASHINGTON – Richard Stewart, a resident of Mitchellville, Md., pleaded guilty today for failing to pay over employment taxes in connection with his ownership of Montgomery Mechanical Services, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

According to the plea agreement and criminal information, from at least 2003 through 2008, Stewart owned and operated Montgomery Mechanical Services, a company that installed plumbing, heating and air conditioning in commercial buildings and that had offices in Baltimore and Capitol Heights, Md. From 2003 through at least 2008, Stewart did not collect, truthfully account for and pay over approximately $3,969,337 of Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) taxes and federal income tax withholdings, commonly known as trust fund taxes, from his employees’ wages. According to the terms of the plea agreement, Stewart is required to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $5,414,647, which encompasses both the trust fund taxes that he failed to pay and his obligation, as an employer, to pay over a matching portion of FICA taxes.

Stewart faces a potential maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Tino M. Lisella and Jeffrey L. Shih of the Justice Department’s Tax Division handled the prosecution.

Sentencing is tentatively scheduled for April 23, 2012 before the Honorable Roger W. Titus in Greenbelt, Md.