Barry Lee White, the owner of I-Barr Construction Inc. and operator of T-Line Construction LLC, was sentenced to nearly two years in prison and ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution after admitting to evading payroll taxes, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
I-Barr Owner $2.5M Payroll Tax Evasion : A Costly Tax Scheme
White’s sentencing, handed down by U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr., includes a 22-month prison term followed by three years of supervised release. Between 2015 and 2018, White withheld more than $1.8 million in employee payroll taxes but failed to remit the funds to the IRS, as legally required. Additionally, he neglected to pay over $600,000 in Social Security and federal unemployment taxes.
Impact on Taxpayers and Employees
“Employment tax evasion is not only theft from the government but also from American taxpayers,” stated Demetrius Hardeman, a special agent with IRS Criminal Investigation. Hardeman noted that White’s failure to turn over payroll taxes could directly affect employees’ future Social Security and Medicare benefits.
