A businessman from Jefferson County, Missouri has admitted to failing to pay employment taxes over a period of 10 years, resulting in a tax loss of $774,081.
Danny L. Nickelson Jr., 54, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two counts of failure to pay over trust fund taxes. According to court documents, employers are required by law to withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes as well as federal income taxes from employees’ wages and remit them quarterly to the federal government. Employers must also match the Social Security and Medicare contributions and pay these amounts to the IRS.
Nickelson owned General Physiotherapy, a company that manufactures and distributes massage and percussion devices for medical and physical therapy use. From 2013 through 2022, he withheld required taxes from his employees’ paychecks but did not forward those funds or the employer’s matching share to the IRS. Instead, authorities said he used the money for business expenses and personal spending on items such as food, travel, retail purchases, and credit card bills.
The same conduct occurred between 2013 and 2015 at Tomichi Industries, a small plastic distributor that supplied General Physiotherapy. Nickelson was also the sole shareholder of Tomichi Industries.
He admitted in court that he failed to make 40 quarterly employment tax payments across both companies during this time frame. Nickelson has agreed to repay the full amount owed to the IRS.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 12. The charges carry a potential penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.
The investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting the case.
