Massachusetts Phone Tower Installation Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Employment Tax Crimes
The owner of two Massachusetts-based companies, Bowmar Steel Industries Inc. and Teleconstructors Inc., pleaded guilty Friday to willful failure to collect, account for, and pay taxes owed to the IRS.
According to court documents, Kenneth Marston, of Kingston, Massachusetts, was the owner and operator of Bowmar Steel Industries, a steel fabrication business, and Teleconstructors, a company that provides cell tower installation services.
Marston was responsible for withholding Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes from his employees’ paychecks and sending those amounts to the IRS.
From approximately March 2015 to December 2018, however, Marston failed to ensure that taxes were withheld or remitted to the IRS on approximately $3.8 million in wages. His actions caused tax losses to the IRS estimated between $550,000 and $1.5 million.
Marston is scheduled to be sentenced on January 3, 2025, and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. In addition to prison time, he also faces supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
The final sentence will be decided by a district court judge after considering US sentencing guidelines and other legal factors.
The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.
The announcement was made by Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Department of Justice’s Tax Division and Acting US Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the State of Massachusetts.
