A man from California has admitted to a significant employment tax violation. Shane Brightpath Mike, who owned and served as the president and chief operating officer of Excel Behavioral Services Inc., based in Campbell, California, pleaded guilty to not fulfilling his tax obligations to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The company, known for providing home care to persons with disabilities, was at the center of a case that revealed a considerable discrepancy in handling employment taxes.

According to official court documents and statements made in court, Mike's failure to administer the withheld Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes from his employees' wages spans from the fourth quarter of 2014 to the third quarter of 2015. Notably, he did not remit any withheld taxes to the IRS during these periods, except for a partial payment for the third quarter of 2014. The total amount Mike failed to pay surpasses $1 million, an act further compounded by personal misuse of the company's funds.

The repercussions of Mike's actions extend beyond the misuse of withheld taxes. He also engaged in filing false personal income tax returns for the years 2014 and 2015. These returns inaccurately claimed credit for federal tax withholdings from wages purportedly earned at Excel, despite these amounts not being paid over to the IRS. This deliberate misstatement resulted in a tax loss estimated at $1,177,947, a considerable sum that underscores the severity of the offences.

Mike's sentencing is scheduled for September 24, where he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The sentencing will also consider potential supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties, as a federal district court judge weighs the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines alongside other statutory factors.