U.S. Attorney: Iowa executive charged with failure to pay over $440,000 in employment taxes

A Keswick man made his initial appearance today in federal court in Des Moines for tax and bank fraud charges.

Thomas Sieren, age 59, is charged in a 24-count indictment returned on July 19, 2022. According to court documents, Sieren was the Vice President of TCS Fabricating, Inc., a local fabrication company. TCS Fabricating, Inc. was required by law to withhold taxes from employee wages and to pay the withheld amounts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on a periodic basis. These withheld taxes, sometimes known as "trust fund taxes," include income taxes and Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare. It is alleged that Sieren failed to pay the IRS over $440,000 from 2016 to 2020. On TCS Fabricating, Inc.'s behalf, Sieren also allegedly submitted two Paycheck Protection Program loan applications in which he falsely represented that the company had employees for which it paid payroll taxes.

"Business owners are required to withhold income taxes for their employees and remit those taxes to the IRS," said Special Agent in Charge, Tyler Hatcher. "IRS-Criminal Investigation takes these crimes very seriously not only because of the impact on federal revenue, but more importantly because of the way employee benefits are impacted."

Sieren is charged with twenty counts of Failure to Collect, Account for, and Pay Over Trust Fund Taxes, two counts of Bank Fraud, and two counts of False Statements to a Financial Institution. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa and made the announcement. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Essley is prosecuting the case.

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Original text here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdia/pr/local-fabrication-company-executive-charged-fraud-and-failing-pay-over-440000