Tennessee Counseling Center Owner Sentenced for Employment Tax Fraud
A DOJ press release details the sentencing of a former Tennessee counseling center owner for willfully failing to remit withheld employment taxes and failing to file required quarterly returns over a five-year period. The case, prosecuted by the newly formed National Fraud Enforcement Division, illustrates continuing federal enforcement priority on payroll tax withholding failures by small business owners.
- Mari Alexander was sentenced to 3 years' probation and ordered to pay $1,048,840 in restitution to the United States.
- From 2015 through 2020, she willfully failed to pay over to the IRS payroll taxes withheld from employees of her Tennessee counseling center.
- She failed to file more than 20 quarterly employment tax returns with the IRS during that period.
- Alexander pleaded guilty on April 15, 2026, to one count of willful failure to account for and pay over employment taxes.
- IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case, which was prosecuted by the National Fraud Enforcement Division's Tax Section.
Executive summary
The Justice Department announced the sentencing of Mari Alexander, 52, a former Tennessee business owner, for employment tax fraud. Alexander was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to pay $1,048,840 in restitution to the United States. According to court…
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Source documents
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-tennessee-business-owner-sentenced-prison-employment-tax-fraudRead by Regulus 16 Oct 2026 at 11:04 UTC
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