A Florida man drew a five year prison sentence in Oklahoma City for not paying federal payroll taxes withheld from wages of workers at an Oklahoma environmental sales and consulting company.
Gregory Damien Lorson of Panama City Beach, Florida was sentenced in Oklahoma City Federal Court after he had pleaded guilty in June of 2018. Lorson was President and Chief Executive Officer of TEEMCO, LLC from 2010 until the business shut down operations in mid-2015. During that time, Lorson deducted and withheld federal income taxes, Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes from company workers.
But instead of forwarding the withheld payroll taxes to the IRS, he used it to fund the company’s extensive advertising campaign and to pay other creditors and expenses.
Lorson admitted that he directed TEEMCO employees not to forward the withheld payroll taxes to the IRS. He also admitted that he failed to file with the IRS quarterly federal tax returns for TEEMCO from 2010 to 2015.
As part of his plea agreement, he agreed to pay $3,003,220.47 in restitution to the IRS for withheld payroll taxes and other federal taxes that TEEMCO never paid to the IRS for company employees. Lorson also agreed to pay an additional $542,162.53 in restitution to the Oklahoma Tax Commission for TEEMCO employees’ state taxes that were withheld but never paid to state tax authorities.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Lorson could have received a lesser sentence. But Chief U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton chose a sentence above the advisory sentencing guideline range and at the statutory maximum based on the circumstances of the offense and other factors. Lorson will also have to pay restitution in the amount of $3,545,383.
