A business owner from St. Charles County, Missouri on Thursday admitted using part of the $2.3 million in income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes that he’d withheld from his employees’ paychecks for college tuition and mortgage payments on two houses.
Jeffrey M. Bauza, 55, of Weldon Spring, also admitted failing to pay $1 million in employer contributions to the IRS. Bauza pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark to one count of willful failure to collect or pay tax.
Bauza owned the truck driving schools CDL Training Service & Consulting and CDL Training Services of Missouri at the time. The schools prepared students to obtain their commercial driver’s licenses. Bauza was required by law to withhold income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes from employee wages before turning them over to the Internal Revenue Service. he was also required to file quarterly employment tax returns. He admitted willfully failing to do so from 2012-2019.
Bauza instead made substantial payments toward the mortgage of his primary home as well as a vacation home in Florida and paid college tuition for one of his children, according to his plea agreement.
As part of the agreement, Bauza agreed to pay back the $1.4 million that he still owes in taxes. He is scheduled to be sentenced next year and could face up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwendolyn Carroll is prosecuting the case.
