ST. LOUIS – A federal grand jury indicted Jeffrey M. Bauza on November 17, 2021 with numerous counts of willful failure to collect or pay taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.
The indictment charges Jeffrey M. Bauza willfully failed to collect, account for, and pay over to the Internal Revenue Service all the Federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes withheld and due to the United States. Bauza owned and operated CDL Training Service & Consulting and CDL Training Services of Missouri.
The indictment alleges that beginning in 2015 through 2018, as owner and operator of CDL Training Service & Consulting and CDL Training Services of Missouri, Bauza withheld payroll taxes from his employees continuously, but he did not file the required quarterly Forms 941. In addition, Bauza failed to pay over any of the associated payroll taxes to the IRS.
Despite owing a substantial amount of money to the IRS and being aware of his employment tax obligations, Bauza maintained his lifestyle making substantial payments toward his primary residence, his Florida vacation home, a luxury vehicle, and private universities for his children’s education, among other things. Bauza even expanded his business, opening additional CDL schools and engaging in other business ventures which required him to put up substantial capital.
CDL Training Service & Consulting and CDL Training Services were operated and controlled by Bauza, and he was responsible for paying the companies’ taxes. He exercised financial control over the businesses’ financial affairs and was the only person who had the authority to file and pay the payroll taxes. Additionally, Bauza was the only person in the companies who had the authority to authorize payments and sign checks, and he alone decided which of the companies’ liabilities to pay.
In total, Bauza failed to pay over approximately $1,173,424 in employment taxes withheld from employee paychecks and due to the IRS.
“IRS Criminal Investigation is entrusted to enforce the nation’s tax laws. When taxpayers go to work they trust that their employers are following the law and paying their withheld taxes over to the IRS. When greedy employers keep these funds for their own personal use as shown in the indictment of Jeffrey Bauza, it can cause detrimental harm to employees. This indictment sends the message that IRS-CI will work tirelessly to detect non-compliance and protect innocent workers and the integrity of our nation’s tax system,” said Tyler Hatcher, Special Agent in Charge, St. Louis Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation.
Charges set forth in the indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation.
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