Kentucky Man Charged With Not Paying Payroll Taxes

Ace R. Jones II, of Somerset, waived formal indictment of a five-count "federal information" charging him with failing to account for and pay after withholding F.I.C.A. (Federal Insurance Contribution Act) taxes between 2017 through 2019. Jones owned and operated a business under the name Cumberland Behavior Group, LLC (CBG).

As alleged in the information, CBG withheld taxes from some 50 employees' paychecks — including federal income taxes, Medicare and Social Security taxes — to the tune of $259,648.88.

"Employers have a responsibility to their employees to withhold the proper amount of taxes and pay those taxes over to the IRS," Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Cincinnati Field Office, stated in a press release. "When employers fail to do so, it affects revenue to the United States government, but more importantly, it affects their employees' Medicare and Social Security benefits."

The charge against Jones is punishable by up to five years in prison. However, according to the plea agreement filed, Jones has agreed to pay a total of $301,415.15 in restitution as follows: $259,648.88 as owed to the IRS and $41,766.21 to 11 "employees or former employees of Cumberland Behavior Group, LLC, who incurred out-of-pocket costs relating to various forms of healthcare services that were not covered by insurance offered by CBG to its employees."

While the insurance lapse did not directly relate to the tax issue, according to the plea agreement, Jones' agreement to pay those costs kept prosecutors from pursuing additional charges in the area.

A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled in Jones' case.

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