Bookkeeper pleads guilty to taking clients’ money but failing to pay taxes on their behalf

Date: Sept. 2, 2026

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

Wichita, KS – A Kansas businesswoman pleaded guilty to defrauding customers of her bookkeeping company by taking their money but leaving their tax bills unpaid. 

According to court documents, Nicole Clem of Augusta pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of failure to pay employment taxes. 

Clem served as owner and operator of Bookkeeping N Beyond, which provided individual and business clients with accounting, tax preparation, and payroll services.

Clem used Automated Clearing House (ACH) electronic transfers to withdraw funds from her clients’ bank accounts that were designated to pay their employment taxes or other taxes. Instead, Clem spent the money on personal expenses such as airline and concert tickets, hotels, restaurants, student loan payments, vehicle repairs, and essential oils. An investigation identified more than 20 clients with losses totaling more than $1 million.

Clem was not accurately reporting her income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and failed to pay $35,222 in employment taxes for her own business from 2017 to 2023.

Clem is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 2, 2026. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Katie Andrusak is prosecuting the case.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 16 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.