A Missouri businessman from Jefferson County, Danny L. Nickelson Jr., 54, pleaded guilty to failing to pay employment taxes over a ten-year period. He admitted on Wednesday that he did not submit payroll taxes withheld from his employees’ wages to the Internal Revenue Service.
Nickelson owned General Physiotherapy, a company that provides therapy devices, where he withheld taxes from employee paychecks but used the funds for personal and business expenses. According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he also did not pay these trust fund taxes for Tomichi Industries, a plastics distributor affiliated with General Physiotherapy, from 2013 to 2015.
These trust fund taxes include Social Security and Medicare taxes, as well as federal income tax that employers are legally required to hold in trust until payment to the U.S. Treasury. Normally, these taxes are paid to the IRS on a quarterly basis. Nickelson admitted to missing 40 of these payments across both companies, resulting in a total tax loss of $774,081.
As part of his plea agreement, Nickelson has agreed to repay the full amount owed to the IRS. He now faces charges that carry a maximum penalty of $250,000, or both a fine and imprisonment. The case, led by IRS Criminal Investigation, is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow.
Nickelson is scheduled to be sentenced on May 12. The case highlights the serious consequences of failing to properly handle employee payroll taxes.
