Maryland Payroll Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Tax Crimes and Embezzlement

A Maryland woman, Michelle Leach-Bard, pleaded guilty to failing to pay employment taxes to the IRS and embezzling from an employee benefit plan. Leach-Bard, the owner and sole corporate officer of iProcess Online Inc., was responsible for withholding taxes from employees' wages but failed to pay them to the IRS as required. This resulted in a tax loss of $2,663,264.12.

Additionally, Leach-Bard did not pay approximately $207,180.41 in wages withheld from employees' paychecks to the 401(k) Plan, along with about $18,740.37 in employer matching contributions. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 20 and could face up to five years in prison for the tax and embezzlement charges, along with supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division announced the guilty plea, while Trial Attorneys Catriona Coppler and Jeffrey McLellan of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case. The IRS Criminal Investigation and the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration are conducting the investigation.