Madison, Wis. - Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Gary Auerswald, 61, Edgerton, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 24 months in federal prison for failing to pay taxes withheld from his employees' paychecks. This term of imprisonment is to be followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Peterson also ordered Auerswald to pay restitution in the amount of $593,300.46. Auerswald pleaded guilty to this charge on March 30, 2018.
Auerswald was the owner of Full Spectrum Building Components, Inc., a business operating in Edgerton, and had corporate responsibility to collect and pay over the company’s payroll taxes. Full Spectrum withheld payroll taxes from its employees’ payroll checks and was required to deposit these funds with the IRS on a quarterly basis; however, the company failed to make these payments. Auerswald used the money for to pay for business and personal expenses.
During sentencing, Judge Peterson highlighted Auerswald’s “pattern of nonpayment" and noted that Auerswald “resorted to dishonest behavior when faced with financial difficulty."
The charge against Auerswald was the result of an investigation conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chadwick M. Elgersma.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
