United States of America v. Kimberly Zulkowski

Milwaukee, Wisconsin criminal defense lawyer represented defendant charged with failing to account for an pay over taxes owed to the Internal Revenue Service.



Kimberly Zulkowski, age 42, founded and managed Faith Family Services, Inc., a personal care business based in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Her business was successful, with gross annual receipts exceeding $5 million and over 150 employees. Despite that success, Zulkowski refused to tender monies she had withheld from her employees' wages as part of her company's payroll tax obligations.



Court records reveal that although the IRS had warned Zulkowski in 2015 that she was violating the federal tax laws, she nevertheless persisted in her criminal conduct for nearly two more years. Zukowski ultimately pled guilty to a willful violation of the tax laws in February 2020.



When imposing sentence, Judge Stadtmueller emphasized that our tax system relies upon voluntary compliance, such that defendants who willfully flout the tax laws must be sentenced in a fashion that encourages compliance.



"Individuals and businesses who cheat on their taxes not only undermine the government's ability to fund vital and necessary programs but also effectively steal from their fellow citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Frohling. "The U.S. Attorney's Office remains committed to working with IRS-Criminal Investigation and our other federal, state, and local partners to investigate and prosecute individuals who engage in these types of tax-related offenses.”



"Failure to pay over employment taxes taken from employee wages is a serious criminal offense,” said Justin Campbell, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation Chicago Field Office. "It not only harms the employee's future Social Security and Medicare benefits, it's also stealing from honest taxpayers and the United States Treasury. IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to track down those who collect these taxes and use the funds for personal gain."



This matter was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin Knight and Kate Biebel.



26:7202: WILLFUL FAILURE TO COLLECT/PAY OVER TAX

IMPRISONMENT: 15 months; SUPERVISED RELEASE: 3 years; FINE: None; RESTITUTION: $731,970; SPECIAL ASSESSMENT: $100.