Mechanicsburg’s Nicholas Long Gets Prison for Tax Theft

Meals on wheels turned to meals behind bars for Nicholas A. Long, 30, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, who was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison on March 8, 2018, for willfully failing to pay $216,304 in federal payroll taxes. U.S. District Judge Sylvia H. Rambo handed down the sentence, which includes three years of supervised release, after Long admitted guilt in October 2017.

Long, the sole owner of Harrisburg Commercial Interiors, LLC (HCI), a commercial drywall business, played payroll puppet with his employees’ hard-earned wages. Between 2013 and 2014, he issued $730,788 in gross wages but never filed required Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Returns (Forms 941) or Form 940 with the IRS. Worse, he pocketed $160,399 in withheld income taxes meant for the federal government.

IRS Criminal Investigation didn’t come knocking by accident. The probe ignited when multiple HCI employees reported they were denied their 2013 income tax refunds—red flags that led agents straight to Long’s doorstep. With sole authority over HCI’s bank accounts and payroll, Long wasn’t just cutting checks—he was cutting corners with felony precision.

Despite the scale of the theft, Long made $140,000 in restitution payments before sentencing. But $76,304 remains owed, and Judge Rambo made it clear: the tab isn’t closed. Full restitution of $216,304 was ordered, a number that includes interest and penalties accrued from years of deliberate neglect.

“Business owners like Mr. Long have a responsibility to withhold income taxes for their employees and then remit those taxes to the IRS,” said Ed Wirth, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation. “The failure to do so is a crime, and the Special Agents of IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to vigorously pursue action against those who commit these types of offenses.”

The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation office in Harrisburg and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Douglas Daniel. Long’s fall from contractor to convict underscores a cold truth: stealing from your employees’ paychecks doesn’t just break trust—it breaks federal law.