Staffing Business Owner and Son Indicted for Employment Tax and Wire Fraud Schemes

A federal grand jury in the District of Minnesota returned an indictment today charging Ku Kelvin Vue and his son, Travis Vue, with willfully failing to collect, account for and pay over employment taxes to the IRS on behalf of the staffing business they operated, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Ku Kelvin Vue was also charged with willfully failing to file corporate tax returns, and Travis Vue was charged with filing a false individual tax return and willfully failing to file individual tax returns.

The following is according to the indictment: Ku Kelvin Vue was the owner and president of UniSelect Services Inc., a temporary staffing agency that provided temporary workers to client companies in the manufacturing industry and other industries. Travis Vue helped run the company as early as 2014. Both men were allegedly responsible for withholding Social Security, Medicare and income taxes from UniSelect's employees' wages and paying those withholdings over to the IRS, as well as filing quarterly tax returns with the IRS documenting those withholdings. According to the indictment, however, from the third quarter of 2020 through the second quarter of 2022, neither Ku Kelvin Vue nor Travis Vue collected those taxes or paid them over to the IRS, nor filed quarterly tax returns with the IRS.

The indictment also alleges that Ku Kelvin Vue willfully failed to file corporate tax returns on behalf of UniSelect for the years 2020 through 2022. It is alleged that Travis Vue willfully failed to file individual tax returns for the years 2021 through 2023. Travis Vue also allegedly filed a false tax return for 2020 reporting zero wages or income, even though he received substantially greater wages and income during that year and was required to file a tax return.

In addition to their tax crimes, the indictment also charges Ku Kelvin Vue and Travis Vue with one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to the indictment, the Vues conspired to secure business for UniSelect by falsely assuring clients the company maintained active workers' compensation insurance coverage for all UniSelect employees furnished to the clients as temporary workers. In reality, UniSelect allegedly did not maintain workers' compensation insurance coverage on behalf of its workers. Instead, Kelvin Vue and Travis Vue allegedly conspired to create false and fraudulent workers' compensation insurance policy certificates, which they provided to clients to deceive them into believing UniSelect maintained insurance coverage.

Both defendants face maximum penalties of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conspiracy count, five years in prison for each count of willful failure to collect, account for and pay over employment taxes and one year in prison for each count of willful failure to file a tax return. Travis Vue also faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for filing a false tax return.

Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division and U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen for the District of Minnesota made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Assistant Deputy Chief Eric B. Powers and Trial Attorney Megan E. Wessel of the Fraud Division's Tax Section are prosecuting the case.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Fraud Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

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