De Smet Man and Woman Each Sentenced to Terms in Federal Prison and Home Confinement for Willful Failure to Collect or Pay Over $600,000 in Employment Tax

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a De Smet, South Dakota, man and woman convicted of Willful Failure to Collect or Pay Over Employment Tax and Aiding and Abetting. The sentencing took place on March 18, 2026.

Michael Wiese, 66, was sentenced to three months in federal prison, followed by three months of home confinement, and three years of supervised release. He was further ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Audrey Saylor, 65, was sentenced to three months in federal prison, followed by three months on home confinement, and three years of supervised release. She was further ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Wiese and Saylor were also ordered to jointly pay over $610,000 in restitution.

Wiese and Saylor were indicted for multiple counts of Willful Failure to Collect or Pay Over Employment Tax and Aiding and Abetting and Filing False Tax Return and Aiding and Abetting by a federal grand jury in June 2024. Wiese and Saylor pleaded guilty on December 1, 2025.

Wiese and Saylor were co-owners and operators of American Engineered Products, LLC ("AEP"), which is based in De Smet, South Dakota. AEP is in the business of designing and manufacturing items such as bases for casino slot machines and cash kiosks. They exercised control over every aspect of AEP's business affairs, including preparing AEP's month-end report, providing information to AEP's corporate tax return preparer to file AEP's corporate federal income tax returns, managing AEP's day-to-day bookkeeping, issuing paychecks to AEP's employees, and providing the year-end Forms W-2 to AEP's employees.

Throughout calendar years 2017 through 2020, Wiese and Saylor, on behalf of AEP, withheld taxes from its employees' paychecks, including federal income taxes, Medicare, and Social Security taxes (collectively referred to as "payroll taxes"), knowing that they had the responsibility to collect, truthfully account for, and pay over AEP's payroll taxes. Beginning in January 2017, Wiese and Saylor made no payments of the payroll taxes to the IRS by the required due dates. Beginning in 2017, AEP also failed to file required forms with the IRS. In sum, Wiese and Saylor willfully failed to truthfully account for and pay over to the IRS all of the payroll taxes withheld and due and owing to the United States on behalf of AEP and its employees. Their conduct continued until about January 2021, adversely impacting AEP's employees' accrual of future federal benefits.

"This is a form of theft from the government," said U.S. Attorney Parsons. "Our Financial Litigation Unit will do its best to recover these stolen funds on behalf of the American taxpayer."

"Failure to collect and pay over employment taxes is a serious criminal offense," said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge William Steenson. "It harms the future Social Security and Medicare benefits of the employees. Business owners have a responsibility to withhold the taxes from their employees' pay and remit them to the IRS."

This case was investigated by the IRS-Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Jehangiri prosecuted the case.

Saylor will report to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in late March 2026 to begin serving her sentence, while Wiese will report in early July 2026.