Scottsdale man sentenced to prison for not paying employee taxes
Oct 2, 2023, 1:00 PM
A Phoenix woman was sentenced to 27 months in prison for alien smuggling and assault of a federal officer. (Pexels File Photo)
(Pexels File Photo)
PHOENIX — A Scottsdale man was sentenced last week to over a year in prison for failing to pay the Internal Revenue Service federal income taxes that were withheld from employees.
James Philip Piccolo, 65, was also ordered to pay more than $650,000 in restitution to the IRS and a $10,000 fine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said in a press release.
Piccolo previously pleaded guilty to the crime in January 2023.
Prosecutors said that Piccolo co-founded Tecademics, LLC in 2016 and founded IQUP, INC. in 2017. Both of the companies taught clients how to manage online businesses and implement marketing efforts online.
He received business tax returns between 2017 and 2018 prepared by Tecademics’ and IQUPs’ bookkeepers, and those returns had wages listed for employees for each quarter.
Piccolo admitted that he knew he was required to pay those taxes to the IRS, but did not for the tax periods between January 2017 and April 2018, prosecutors said.
“The conviction and sentencing of the defendant are the results of an effort by the Internal Revenue Service to vindicate the rights of honest business owners by holding scofflaws to account,” U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino said in the release.
“Instead of following the law, Piccolo breached his employees’ trust by failing to pay the taxes withheld on their behalf.”
The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation of the case.
