SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Dr. Karin Breitlauch, age 58, of Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, and Linda Breitlauch, age 64, of Stroudsburg Pennsylvania, were each sentenced on May 20, 2022, to 12 months’ plus one day imprisonment by United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion for failure to remit payroll taxes from their veterinary business.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Karin Breitlauch is a veterinarian who owns and operates Creature Comforts Veterinary Service in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. Linda Breitlauch, her sister, is the comptroller for the business. Between 2013 and 2016, the Breitlauchs withheld federal income taxes from their employees’ paychecks but failed to remit the withholdings to the Internal Revenue Service for tax quarters 2013 through 2016 and failed to pay the employer portion of the payroll taxes. This money included Social Security payments that would benefit their employees. When some employees went to collect their Social Security benefits their earnings while employed at the veterinary clinic were not recorded with the Social Security Administration.
The Breitlauchs were ordered to pay $2,486,495.99 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release following their incarceration. Judge Mannion ordered the Breitlauchs to surrender themselves to the Bureau of Prisons on July 29, 2022, to commence their sentence.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts prosecuted the case.
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