AP Photo/Alex Brandon
A Houston business owner accused of withholding hundreds of thousands of employee tax dollars was indicted last week by a grand jury, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Joseth Limon, 48, allegedly failed to file tax returns for his business and pay over-taxes his company withheld from employee paychecks, U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei announced Friday.
Limon had allegedly been the owner of Platinum Employment Group, Inc., since 2013, supplying temporary laborers to businesses in the Houston area.
Between 2016 and 2018, the company paid more than $3.5 million to its employees and withheld $450,000 from the employees’ paychecks, according to the Department of Justice.
“During that period, however, Limon allegedly failed to pay to the Internal Revenue Service the employment taxes that Platinum withheld from its employees’ paychecks and failed to file any employment tax returns on behalf of Platinum,” the justice department said.
Business employers are generally required to withhold federal income tax from employees’ wages. Employers must report wages, tips and other compensation paid to an employee by filing the required tax return to the IRS, according to the federal agency.
The company allegedly did not pay any of the trust-fund taxes owed, or file any Forms 941 for any of the calendar quarters from 2016 to 2018. Employees’ W-2 forms were not transmitted to the Social Security Administration, it’s alleged in court documents.
If convicted, Limon faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine, according to the justice department.