An Ohio woman has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after embezzling over $494,000 from employee tax payments to fund a lavish lifestyle. Tammy Butdorf, 51, was found guilty of failing to pay employment taxes withheld from workers at her husband's electrical contracting business, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio. As the accountant and office manager for the family business, she was responsible for collecting federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare payments from employees' wages and sending the money to the government. However, an investigation by the Cleveland office of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) revealed that Butdorf had been diverting the funds into private accounts over a six-year period. Instead of sending the withheld payroll taxes to the IRS, Butdorf made payments directly to herself and her husband for personal and family expenses. The misdirected funds were used to purchase a condominium in Florida, pay membership fees at a private camp, cover costs for a shooting club, and fund family vacations. Under federal tax law, business owners and those responsible for handling payroll are required to keep employee tax payments separate and hold them for the government. Using this money for personal expenses or business costs is considered a federal crime. After her conviction, Butdorf was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by a period of supervised release. She was also ordered to repay the IRS in full for the unpaid taxes accrued over the six-year period.
In a case of financial misappropriation, Tammy Butdorf, 51, has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in employee tax payments. The guilty verdict was handed down by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio after it was discovered that she failed to pay employment taxes withheld from workers at her husband's electrical contracting business. As the accountant and office manager, Butdorf collected federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare payments from employees' wages and was responsible for sending them to the government. However, an investigation by the Cleveland office of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) found that she had been diverting funds into private accounts over a six-year period. The misappropriated funds were used for personal expenses such as paying for a condominium in Florida, membership fees at a private camp, costs for a shooting club, and family holidays. Business owners and those responsible for handling payroll are required to keep employee tax payments separate and hold them for the government under federal tax law. Using this money for personal expenses is considered a federal crime.
An Ohio woman has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after being found guilty of embezzling over $494,000 from employee tax payments. Tammy Butdorf, 51, was the accountant and office manager for her husband's electrical contracting business and was responsible for collecting federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare payments from employees' wages and sending them to the government. However, an investigation by the Cleveland office of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) revealed that she had been diverting funds into private accounts over a six-year period. The misdirected funds were used for personal expenses such as paying for a condominium in Florida, membership fees at a private camp, costs for a shooting club, and family holidays. Business owners and those responsible for handling payroll are required to keep employee tax payments separate and hold them for the government under federal tax law. Using this money for personal expenses is considered a federal crime. After her conviction, Butdorf was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to repay the IRS in full for the unpaid taxes accrued over the six-year period.