Two Men Sentenced for Commercial Bribery and Tax Fraud

SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Danny Sing, age 61, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 27 months of imprisonment, and Mark Holmes, age 67, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment by United States District Judge Malachy E. Mannion, for commercial bribery and tax fraud offenses.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Danny Sing pleaded guilty to conspiring with other individuals to failing to withhold and remit approximately $1,360,000 in federal employment taxes to the IRS.  Global Staffing Services, Inc. leased temporary employees to companies in Pennsylvania and New York.  Sing and his coconspirators paid Global Staffing Services, Inc. employees in cash, paid themselves in cash, and cashed all checks received from Global Staffing Services, Inc.’s clients, to conceal the income and wages from the IRS.  Sing also pleaded guilty to providing in excess of approximately $400,000 in bribes and kickbacks to managers and supervisors at Global Staffing Services, Inc.’s client, to obtain business for Global Staffing Services, Inc.  In total, Sing and his coconspirators obtained over $16,500,000 from a Pennsylvania food services company for their staffing companies.  The criminal activities occurred between 2013 and 2020.  Sing further failed to file personal tax returns and pay federal income tax for years 2014 through 2020, despite spending over $1 million at local casinos during that time period.  This resulted in over $390,000 in tax losses to the IRS.

Mark Holmes pleaded guilty to accepting, as the General Manager of a Pennsylvania food services company, approximately $400,000 in bribes and kickbacks from the owners and operators of Global Staffing Services, Inc. and Penns Independent Staffing, another staffing company, in exchange for hiring their employees.  The two temporary staffing companies, in turn, received approximately $7,800,000 from Holmes’s employer.  Holmes also pleaded guilty to failing to remit approximately $135,000 in employment taxes to the IRS that were owed by Encore Staffing Solutions LLC, another temporary staffing company that he owned and operated.  Encore Staffing Solutions LLC leased temporary employees to manufacturing businesses throughout Pennsylvania.  The criminal activities occurred between 2014 and 2020.

Five other individuals were previously prosecuted in this investigation:

1. Madeline Nieves, age 49, of Plains, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to a tax fraud conspiracy.  Nieves conspired with other individuals to defraud the IRS, from 2018 to 2020, in connection with staffing company Encore Staffing Solutions LLC, which she owned and operated with Holmes.  Nieves failed to report Encore Staffing Solutions LLC employee wages to the IRS, resulting in approximately $67,000 in employment taxes owed, but never paid, by Encore to the IRS.  Nieves also failed to report her own personal income from Encore Staffing Solutions LLC to the IRS.  Nieves was sentenced to 15 months of imprisonment.
2. Nari Lam, age 31, of Wilmington, Delaware, pleaded guilty to failing to remit employment taxes to the IRS.  From 2016 through 2020, Nari Lam, as the owner of temporary staffing company Penns Independent Staffing, failed to pay approximately $300,000 in employment taxes owed by Penns Independent Staffing to the IRS.  Nari Lam was sentenced to three years of probation.
3. Den Lam, age 49, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged in an information alleging that he conspired with other individuals to evade federal income taxes for approximately $1,600,000 in wages paid by Global Staffing Services, Inc. to its employees.  Den Lam also was charged with failing to withhold and remit approximately $1,360,000 in federal employment taxes owed, but never paid, by Global Staffing Services, Inc. to the IRS.
4. Jason R. Bonnewell, age 41, of North Abington Township, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to accepting, as a supervisor of the Pennsylvania food services company, approximately $150,000 in bribes and kickbacks from Global Staffing Services, Inc. and Penns Independent Staffing, in exchange for hiring their employees.  The two temporary staffing companies, in turn, received approximately $13,000,000 from Bonnewell’s employer.  Bonnewell also pleaded guilty to failing to disclose cash income on his personal tax returns.  Bonnewell awaits sentencing.
5. Jose L. Ortiz, age 48, of Drums, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit honest services fraud.  From 2014 to 2021, Ortiz was a manager and director at a Pennsylvania food services company who, along with his coconspirators accepted cash bribes and other things of value from other coconspirators who owned and operated Global Staffing Services, Inc. and Penns Independent Staffing.  In exchange for the kickbacks, Ortiz and his coconspirators entered contracts with and hired the temporary employees of the two staffing companies, paying them over $18,000,000, in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks.  Ortiz received approximately $200,000 of those cash kickbacks.

The cases were investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigations Division.  The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo.

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