Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A Lowell resident was arrested on allegations of payroll tax evasion and workers’ compensation insurance fraud, according to federal authorities. Henry Lam, 67, was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 25, 2025. He faces charges of failure to collect and pay over taxes as well as mail fraud. Lam is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston this afternoon.
Court records state that from 2016 to 2023, Lam owned HL Temporary Services, an employment agency based in Lowell that provided temporary workers to companies across Massachusetts. Authorities allege that client companies paid HL Temporary Services for hourly work performed by the temporary employees. Instead of standard payroll practices, Lam allegedly cashed these payments at check cashing businesses and compensated the workers primarily with cash.
Prosecutors say this method allowed Lam to conceal more than $6.1 million in payroll and avoid paying over $2.4 million in required payroll taxes during the period under investigation. Additionally, it is alleged that Lam used false payroll numbers when obtaining worker’s compensation insurance for HL Temporary Services, which resulted in lower premium rates.
If convicted of failure to collect or pay over taxes, Lam could face up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss (whichever is greater), and restitution. The mail fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison along with similar financial penalties and forfeiture requirements. Sentencing decisions are made by a federal district court judge who considers the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and relevant statutes.
“United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts,” according to officials involved with the case. “Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Kearney of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.”
Authorities emphasize that all details contained within charging documents are allegations at this stage; “The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
