Andrew Park, a resident of New Hampshire and former CEO of a technology startup, has entered a guilty plea for evading more than $14 million in payroll taxes and failing to file personal tax returns. Park, 49, from Bedford, held responsibility for the company’s financial management, which included the filing of quarterly employment tax returns and the oversight of all tax payments.
From the company’s founding in 2014 until the third quarter of 2021, Park withheld Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes from his employees’ wages but failed to remit these to the IRS as mandated by law. Despite employing a payroll service that routinely reminded him of outstanding taxes and receiving alerts about discrepancies in Social Security payments from an employee, Park neglected to fulfill these tax obligations. He also failed to pay the company’s portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes.
Furthermore, between 2013 and 2020, Park did not file personal tax returns despite an annual salary estimated at $250,000. This negligence contributed to a total tax loss exceeding $14 million for the IRS, along with significant losses for state and local tax authorities.
Sentencing for Park is set for November 14, where he could face up to five years in prison for willfully failing to pay payroll taxes and an additional year for the failure to file tax returns. Possible penalties may also include supervised release, fines, and restitution to the IRS and other tax authorities. The final decision regarding sentencing will be made by a federal district court judge, who will take into consideration the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and related factors.
This case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation, with prosecution led by the Tax Division and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of New Hampshire.
