Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Richard G. Frohling announced that on April 13, 2021, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Paul R. Vanderlinden (age: 42) of Appleton, Wisconsin, with violating federal tax laws.
The indictment alleges that Vanderlinden, as owner and operator of Muncheez Pizzeria in Appleton, skimmed approximately $800,000 from his business’s receipts between 2012 and 2016. According to the indictment, most of these receipts were deposited into Vanderlinden’s personal bank account, and Vanderlinden failed to report or pay taxes on this income. He is charged with four counts of filing false individual tax returns for calendar years 2012 through 2015.
The indictment further alleges that Vanderlinden used a large portion of these receipts to pay cash wages to his employees. Federal law requires employers to collect payroll taxes, and Vanderlinden is charged with failing to withhold and pay over the payroll taxes associated with these cash wages from the first quarter of 2014 through the fourth quarter of 2016.
Acting U.S. Attorney Frohling stated “As we approach the tax filing deadline, those who would seek to defraud the United States and cheat their hard-working fellow taxpayers should think twice. The Department of Justice and IRS-CI are fully committed to holding those who file false returns or seek to cheat on their taxes fully accountable for their criminal conduct."
"Fulfilling individual and employee tax obligations is a legal requirement and those who willfully evade that responsibility will be prosecuted," said IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Tamera Cantu, Chicago Field Office. “Employers have a responsibility to their employees to withhold the proper amount of taxes and pay those taxes over to the IRS. When employers fail to do so, it affects revenue to the United States government, but more importantly, it affects their employees Medicare and Social Security benefits."
This investigation was undertaken by Special Agents from the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Farris Martini.
An indictment is only a charging document and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
