[##_1L|1064246678.jpg|width="120" height="88" alt=""|_##]Bruce Alexander Brown, the former owner of an employee leasing business, Excell Personnel, Inc., has pled guilty in federal court to one count of willful failure to account for and pay over nearly $300,000 in payroll taxes owed, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper, of the Northern District of Texas. Brown, who according to an 11-count indictment returned in April that charged him with various tax offenses, is a Dallas resident.  As part of the plea agreement with the government, Brown acknowledged that he has outstanding obligations owed to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for taxes owed by his company, Excell Personnel, Inc., as well as for his personal income taxes.  He faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution.  Sentencing is set for January 16, 2008, before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade.

According to documents filed in Court, from 1996 through at least 2003, Brown was the owner and sole stockholder of Excell Personnel, Inc., which “leased” employees to companies that did not want to directly hire their own workers.  Excell would locate, hire and train employees, and then provide them to the businesses that were Excell’s customers. 

The customers did not directly pay the employees that Excell provided, but rather paid a fee to Excell that included the gross wages that would be owed to the employees for their labor, plus an administrative fee from which Excell received its profit and out of which Excell was obligated to pay indirect costs of the employees and Excell’s overhead expenses. 

Excell, in turn, paid the employees their wages, making deductions for the required withholding of income taxes, Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) taxes and Medicare taxes that were required to be paid to the United States.

Brown admitted that he was aware of the legal obligations and that he knowingly and deliberately chose not to pay over to the IRS the required withholding taxes, social security taxes and Medicare taxes.  During the fourth quarter of 2002, Brown, on behalf of Excell, wilfully failed to pay over to the IRS approximately $297,384.41 in federal income taxes withheld as well as all FICA and Medicare taxes due and owed to the U.S.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip C. Umphres.