A Colorado businesswoman pleaded guilty Wednesday to not paying employment taxes.
According to documents and statements made in court, Shandel Arkadie, of Agate, Colorado, operated a home healthcare business, Alternative Choice Home Care Nursing LLC.
Arkadie was responsible for withholding Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes from Alternative Choice’s employees’ wages and paying those funds to the IRS each quarter.
She was also responsible for paying over Alternative Choice’s portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes.
Between January 2015 and December 2020, the company withheld over $1,000,000 from its employees’ wages but did not pay the funds over to the IRS or file the requisite quarterly tax returns.
In addition, the company owed approximately $500,000 in Social Security and Medicare taxes, which Arkadie did not pay.
In total, Arkadie caused a tax loss to the IRS of about $1,500,000.
Arkadie is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15. She faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
