Employment Tax Scheme Into Which the Owner of an Oregon Payroll Services Company Pleads Guilty

An Oregon man admitted today that he owed the Internal Revenue Service more than $24 million in payroll taxes.

Documents and testimony presented in court indicate that Robert Kohnle, of Lake Oswego, served as president, secretary, and CEO of Real Benefits Group Inc., doing business as Aliat. Aliat was a professional employer organization that helped its clients with payroll and other payroll-related tasks. Payroll taxes, including as federal income and Social Security and Medicare taxes, were withheld from employee earnings and sent to Aliat, as required by the service agreements with its clients.

Kohnle did not turn over payroll withholdings to the IRS from Aliat’s clients as required by the client service agreements from the fourth quarter of 2016 through the fourth quarter of 2022. Instead of paying himself, Kohnle took care of Aliat’s other bills and creditors. Kohnle was responsible for a $24,816,602 loss in tax revenue to the government.

On January 8, 2024, Kohnle will be sentenced to a maximum of five years in jail. A period of supervised release, reparations, and fines may also be imposed on him. The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory criteria will be taken into account by the federal district court judge who will decide on a sentence.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, Natalie K. Wight, and Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Tax, Stuart M. Goldberg, made the official statement.
The case is being looked into by IRS-CI.
Justice Department Tax Division Trial Attorneys Patrick Burns and Regina Jeon are in charge of the prosecution.

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