WASHINGTON —A former Kansas businessman was sentenced Thursday to one year and one day in prison for willfully failing to pay over employment taxes to the IRS, according to the United State's Attorney.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Lance Ashley was the sole owner and operator of Ashley Home Care Services (AHCS), an Overland Park home health care business that provided daily living services to individuals. Ashley was responsible for all financial matters relating to AHCS, including handling payroll and paying expenses. From 2013 through 2016, Ashley did not pay over to the IRS all the federal tax withholdings collected from the wages of AHCS’s employees. Instead, he used some of the funds to pay corporate and personal expenses. After the IRS initiated enforcement efforts in 2016 to collect AHCS’s unpaid employment taxes, Ashley provided fraudulent bank records to the IRS, did not fully disclose all of the company’s bank accounts, filed false IRS forms and attempted to use a recently formed corporation to conceal AHCS’s operations. In total, Ashley’s conduct caused a tax loss to the IRS exceeding $321,000.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Julie A. Robinson ordered Ashley to serve two years of supervised release and to pay approximately $321,000 in restitution to the United States.
IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.