Barbara DeYear, a 67-year-old resident of Lorraine, New York, has been indicted on 13 counts of tax fraud. This announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Harry Chavis, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
The indictment claims that DeYear, who serves as co-owner and president of Independent Commercial Contractors, Inc., withheld over $135,000 in employment taxes from her employees' paychecks between 2019 and 2022 but failed to remit these withholdings to the IRS. Additionally, it is alleged that she did not file quarterly tax returns for the corporation from 2015 through 2022. During the COVID-19 pandemic, DeYear reportedly applied for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan using fraudulent tax documents.
If convicted on these felony charges, DeYear faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison per count and fines up to $250,000 each. The sentencing will be determined by a judge based on specific statutes violated and U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
DeYear appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Miroslav Lovric in Binghamton, New York for arraignment and was released pending trial. The trial is expected to occur later this year under Senior United States District Court Judge David N. Hurd in Utica, New York.
It is important to note that these charges are accusations at this stage; DeYear remains presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by IRS-CI with Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry prosecuting the case.