Howell business owner faces five years in prison for tax evasion

A Monmouth County based business owner has admitted to tax evasion and failure to pay the IRS over $540,000 in employment taxes, announced U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.

Wilson Salas-Molina, 39, of Howell plead guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of payroll tax evasion and one count of failure to collect, account for and pay over payroll taxes.

Salas-Molina was the owner and operator of US Contractor Inc. (a/k/a Wilson Contractors Inc., a/k/a WC Contractor Inc.), a roofing business located in Monmouth County.

Carpenito said that from 2012 to 2018, Salas-Molina was required to withhold and pay over to the IRS the employment taxes for US Contractor employees.

Salas-Molina cashed checks he received from roofing clients at a check cashing service and paid his 14 employees in cash to conceal his payment of wages and his failure to report, account for, and pay over employment taxes to the IRS.

The scheme resulted in a failure to withhold and pay over $540,000 in employment taxes to the IRS.

The count of tax evasion and the count of failure to collect, account for, and pay over payroll taxes each carry a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison for Salas-Molina and $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

His sentencing is scheduled for July 13, 2020.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney A. Howard of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel: Jonathan Goldin Esq., Staten Island, New York.

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