Lowell Father and Daughter Arrested for Tax Fraud

BOSTON - A Lowell man and woman who allegedly operated temporary employment agencies without collecting and paying over employment taxes have been arrested on federal tax charges.

Lim Ou, 69, and his daughter, Nalen Ou, 39, are charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy and failure to collect and pay over taxes.

According to the charging document, Lim Ou and Nalen Ou allegedly operated temporary employee agencies that provided temporary workers to businesses engaged in manufacturing, packaging, laundry services and other general labor. Temporary employment agencies are responsible for paying wages to their employees, reporting the wages to the IRS on a quarterly basis, withholding payroll deductions from workers' wages for income taxes, Social Security obligations and other amounts, and paying those taxes over to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Temporary employment agencies bill client companies for the number of workers and the number of hours worked, and the client companies pay the agencies for the workers' services.

Since 2013, the defendants allegedly operated temporary employee agencies under several successive names, including recently under the names KHL, Inc. and Top Labors, Inc. Between 2019 and 2025, the defendants allegedly used a check cashing company in Worcester, Mass. to cash more than $57 million in checks that the defendants' agencies received from client companies in payment for workers' labor. The defendants allegedly used more than $ 48 million of the $57 million to pay employees their wages in cash "under the table," that is, without reporting the payroll to the IRS or paying required taxes on the wages. The defendants also allegedly failed to pay more than $12 million in federal employment taxes they owed to the IRS from their agencies' operations.

The charge of conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, and restitution. The charge of failure to collect or pay over taxes also provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, and restitution. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts. Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor A. Wild of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

On April 7, 2026, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The Fraud Division is 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.