Kansas Business Owner Sent to Prison for Employment Tax Crimes

A Kenyan national and Missouri businessman was sentenced on October 5, 2026, to 51 months in prison today for willfully failing to pay over employment taxes to the IRS on behalf of the company he owned and operated.

According to documents and statements made in court, Ephantus Mwangi, 48, a resident of Missouri, owned and operated True Payment Solutions, Inc., a Kansas-based business that sold credit-card processing services and card readers to merchants. Mwangi also owned True POS Solutions, Inc, a separate business that offered similar services.

True Payment Solutions typically employed between 20 and 30 people at a time. Because Mwangi was responsible for all financial matters at the business, Mwangi was required by law to withhold Social Security, Medicare and federal income taxes from the wages of his employees and then pay over those funds to the IRS each quarter, as well as file quarterly employment tax returns with the IRS. From at least the third quarter of 2017 through at least the fourth quarter of 2018, however, Mwangi withheld employment taxes from his employees' wages, but he willfully failed to pay over these taxes to the IRS or file employment tax returns. In total, Mwangi withheld $331,404.33 in taxes from his employees' wages that he did not pay over to the IRS.

Mwangi also willfully failed to pay over employment taxes due from True Payment Solutions. Instead, from 2016 to 2019, Mwangi transferred more than $1.5 million from the corporate bank accounts of True Payment Solutions and True POS Solutions Inc. to his personal bank accounts. During this time, he spent more than $200,000 on loan payments for various luxury vehicles, including a Hummer H2, a Cadillac Escalade, two Range Rovers, two Mercedes, and a Lexus. He also used these funds to rent an 11,000 sq. ft. mansion as a second home in San Antonio for $13,000 per month and to pay for private school tuition for his children. Additionally, between 2016 and 2019, Mwangi transferred a total of $763,000 in funds to "TRUE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, EA LTD," in Kenya, Africa. Mwangi also frequently visited a casino for 10 to 12 hours at a time.

Mwangi also willfully failed to file individual income tax returns for the years 2017 and 2020, and he filed 2018 and 2019 individual income tax returns after the deadline had passed. Mwangi did not file corporate income tax returns for Mwangi also willfully failed to file individual income tax returns for the years 2017 and 2020, and he filed 2018 and 2019 individual income tax returns after the deadline had passed. For the years 2017 through 2019, Mwangi did not file corporate income tax returns for True Payment Solutions or True POS Solutions, Inc.

In total, Mwangi caused a tax loss to the U.S. government exceeding $1.5 million.

Mwangi was previously scheduled to be sentenced on April 27, 2026. He failed to appear in court on this date and remained a fugitive from justice for approximately six weeks, until he was arrested during a traffic stop. During the stop, Mwangi falsely identified himself to law enforcement by providing a false name and birth date.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree ordered Mwangi to serve 3 years of supervised release and pay $1,597,835.24 in restitution to the United States.

Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser for the District of Kansas made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service and the Texas State Police.

Trial Attorney J. Parker Gochenour of the National Fraud Enforcement Division's Tax Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Huschka of the District of Kansas prosecuted 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.