A Californian, Robert Hienekamp, pleaded guilty for deliberately neglecting to pay employment tax withholdings to the IRS. Documents and statements reveal that during 2016 and 2017, Hienekamp served as the CEO of Endowance Solutions Inc., a software consulting company in South Lake Tahoe. Although the company deducted income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes from employees’ wages during those years, Hienekamp failed to file the required quarterly employment tax returns or submit the withholdings to the IRS, resulting in a tax loss exceeding $800,000.
Scheduled for sentencing on June 27, 2024, Hienekamp could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison, along with supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge, taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The IRS Criminal Investigation is actively looking into the case, and the announcement was made by Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey for the Northern District of California. Trial Attorney Mahana Weidler of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Lagrama for the Northern District of California are prosecuting the case.
SOURCE: JUSTICE GOV | DECEMBER 18 2023