FEDS: Palm Beach Gardens Healthcare Operator Accused Of Employment Tax Scheme, Indicted

Paul Walczak Of Palm Beach Gardens Indicted, Failed To Pay More Than $6M To IRS

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL – Boca Post (BocaPost.com) — Paul Walczak of Palm Beach Gardens is accused of withholding more than $6M in employment taxes from several healthcare businesses he owns.

According to the US Department of Justice, a federal grand jury in Miami returned an indictment today charging a Florida man with willfully failing to pay employment taxes and to file individual income tax returns.

According to the indictment, from 2009 to 2019, Paul Walczak of Palm Beach Gardens owned multiple healthcare companies, including NuVista, Palm Health Partners, and a healthcare employment company called PHP Employment Services, LLC (PHPES), which he formed in July 2010. As the owner of PHPES, Walczak allegedly exercised control over the business’s finances and was responsible for paying to the IRS the employment taxes, including federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes, withheld from his employees’ wages. The indictment alleges that from 2016 to 2019, Walczak did not pay the IRS more than $6 million in withholdings.

The indictment further charges that from 2016 through 2018 Walczak received a gross annual salary of at least $360,000 from healthcare companies. In addition to his salary, he allegedly received significant wire transfers from his companies. Rather than pay over the withheld funds to the IRS, the indictment alleges Walczak used funds to invest in his businesses, purchase a yacht, lease luxury vehicles, and charter private international flights.

Finally, the indictment charges Walczak with not filing personal income tax returns for 2018, 2019, and 2020.

If convicted, Walczak faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each employment tax count and one year for each failure to file a tax return count. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Francesca Bartolomey and Mitchell Galloway of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.