I’ve said repeatedly that if you want to get in trouble with the IRS, one of the easiest ways to do so is to collect payroll taxes but not remit them. Less frequently I’ve commented about state tax agencies and mentioned that they don’t like you collecting sales taxes and not remitting them. A former NFL player is accused of that and committing wage theft against his employees.
Sam Adams played in the NFL for 14 years with Seattle, Baltimore, Oakland, Buffalo, Cincinnati, and Denver. A defensive lineman, he has 44 sacks credited to him in his career and made the Pro Bowl three times. He and his CFO, Dana Sargent, now face 21 counts of theft and tax evasion. From the Affidavit of Probable Cause:
Adams and Sargent have not only made multiple attempts to evade tax liabilities resulting in a tax bill, as of January 21, 2015, of over $446,571.38, but have failed to pay employees their deserved wages, failed to pay the medical premiums promised to employees as part of their benefit packages, failed to remit the premiums withheld from employees’ paychecks for medical insurance and failed to pay into unemployment insurance for employees, resulting in liens by the Employee Security Department on each company. During the latter part of 2013 through January 2014, Adams’s and Sargent’s illegal actions have caused employees, through no fault of their own, to have countless insufficient fund checks that they were unable to cash which resulted in employees losing their housing, being unable to pay household bills, being unable to buy Christmas gifts and accruing thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills for themselves and their families. Numerous wage complaints have been filed against Lincoln Plaza Athletic Club, LLC, West Seattle Athletic Club, LLC, Adams and Sargent. The Department of Labor has been involved in efforts to assist employees in getting their unpaid medical, dental and vision bills paid due to Adams and Sargent either failing to pay the premiums as promised in the employees’ compensation packages and/or deducting premiums from employees’ pay checks and failing to remit them to the insurance company.
There’s plenty more in the affidavit, including West Seattle Athletic Club closing and the next day a “new” business opening (West Seattle Club) opening. That club paid its first three sales tax returns and then decided not to. That’s a good way to get on a tax agency’s naughty list. Mr. Adams operates six athletic clubs in Oregon and Washington. After reading the indictment, I think it’s possible he won’t be operating any soon.