California businessman indicted for employment tax crimes

 

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Date: February 3, 2022

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

OAKLAND — A federal grand jury in Oakland, California, returned an indictment today charging a California businessman with failing to pay over employment taxes to the IRS.

According to the indictment, Larry Kudsk, of Berkeley, operated two construction businesses, M. Gutierrez Inc. and Larry Kudsk Construction Inc. For both companies, Kudsk allegedly was responsible for filing quarterly employment tax returns and collecting and paying to the IRS payroll taxes withheld from employees' wages. Kudsk allegedly did not timely file employment tax returns, and did not pay withholdings to the IRS, for the last three quarters of 2015 for M. Gutierrez Inc., and for all four quarters of 2016 for Kudsk Construction Inc. In total, Kudsk allegedly caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $250,000.

Kudsk is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Feb. 11 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kandis A. Westmore. If convicted, Kudsk faces a maximum of five years in prison for each of the seven counts of failing to pay over employment taxes. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department's Tax Division, and Special Agent in Charge Mark H. Pearson of IRS-Criminal Investigation made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Lloyd-Lovett of the Northern District of California Corporate and Securities Fraud Section is prosecuting the case with Trial Attorneys Julia M. Rugg and Charles A. O'Reilly of the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.