MARYLAND - A Maryland man was sentenced to 18 months in prison for willfully failing to account for and pay over payroll taxes on behalf of telecommunications businesses he owned and operated.
On April. 14, 2025, a federal jury convicted Brett Hill, of Parkton and Berlin, Maryland, of 16 counts of willful failure to collect and pay over payroll taxes.
As the CEO or president of two telecommunications companies, Hill was responsible for withholding federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes from his employees’ wages and paying those funds over to the government.
According to court documents and statements made in court, he was also responsible for filing tax returns each quarter and for paying over the companies’ share of Social Security and Medicare taxes.
From the second quarter of 2016 through fourth quarter of 2018, Hill withheld taxes from his employees’ wages at one or both of his companies but did not pay those taxes over to the federal government, along with not filing the quarterly employment tax returns as required by law.
Instead of paying the taxes, he withheld from his employees’ paychecks, Hill paid himself a salary and paid other expenses. In total, Hill caused a tax loss to the United States of over $2 million.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher ordered Hill to serve three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $658,485.81 in restitution to the United States.
Trial Attorneys Shawn Noud and Catriona Coppler of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Tax Section, prosecuted the case.