FEDERAL JURY CONVICTS HAMMOND MAN OF FAILING TO PAY OVER FEDERAL TRUST FUND TAXES

Acting United States Attorney Ellison C. Travis announced that a federal jury unanimously convicted Benjamin Thomas, III, age 52, of Hammond, Louisiana, of five counts of failing to truthfully account for and pay over federal trust fund taxes. The verdict followed a three-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson. Thomas had been living in the Dominican Republic since early 2023.

As the evidence at trial demonstrated, beginning in or around 2013, Thomas owned, operated, and controlled a company called Lighthouse Community Care, Inc. ("Lighthouse"), a mental health services clinic based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As the business expanded, Thomas opened several locations all across Louisiana and hired more than 100 employees.

Throughout the company's existence, Thomas would withhold "trust fund taxes" from his employees' paychecks - the federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes that employers withhold from their employees' paychecks and are required to pay to the IRS on a quarterly basis. But he often failed to timely file Lighthouse's quarterly employment tax returns and consistently failed to pay over to the IRS the withheld funds. For the five specific time periods charged in the Indictment, the first three quarters of 2017 and the first two quarters of 2018, Thomas failed to truthfully account for and pay over more than $970,000 in trust funds.

As the evidence at trial demonstrated, the IRS frequently communicated with Thomas through written notices, phone calls, and an in-person interview to remind him of his tax obligations and encourage him to pay what he owed. Meanwhile, he diverted more than $350,000 in company funds to a vacation home in the Dominican Republic, more than $400,000 to a separate management company that he controlled, and more than $500,000 to a family trust that he created. Thomas also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on luxury automobiles (including a Lamborghini and a McLaren), private school tuition, and high-end clothing, jewelry, and accessories.

"The defendant willfully failed to satisfy one of the most fundamental obligations business owners face - to truthfully account for and pay over the federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes that they withhold from their employees' paychecks," said Acting United States Attorney Travis. "Instead, he treated his company's bank accounts like his own personal ATM. I sincerely appreciate the jury's verdict and the work of our federal agents and our office's prosecutors, who worked diligently to hold the defendant accountable for his criminal activity."

"Employees expect their employers to turn over the employment taxes that are taken out of their paychecks to fund future Social Security and Medicare benefits," said Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. "Employers who fail their responsibilities are possibly harming their employees' future benefits, while also stealing from taxpayers. IRS Criminal Investigation special agents are working on behalf of taxpayers to investigate and hold accountable those who commit these financial crimes."

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation Division, with valuable assistance from the United States Marshals Service (USMS) and the USMS's law enforcement partners in the Dominican Republic. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alan A. Stevens, who also serves as Senior Litigation Counsel for the Criminal Division, and Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin M. Anderson.