LA Man Facing $970K Tax Fraud Sentence

Former mental health services clinic owner Benjamin Thomas, III, has been handed a guilty verdict for failing to pay over $970,000 in federal trust fund taxes. The 52-year-old Hammond man was convicted of five counts after a three-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson.

Thomas, who had been living in the Dominican Republic since early 2023, owned and operated Lighthouse Community Care, Inc., a Baton Rouge-based mental health clinic that expanded across Louisiana, employing over 100 people. However, he failed to timely file quarterly tax returns for his company and consistently did not pay the withheld funds to the IRS.

Despite numerous communications from the IRS, Thomas continued to divert over $1 million of company funds to personal expenses, including a vacation home in the Dominican Republic, luxury cars, private school tuition, and high-end goods.

Acting United States Attorney Ellison C. Travis emphasized the severity of Thomas’s actions, stating that he ‘treated his company’s bank accounts like his own personal ATM.’ Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman of IRS Criminal Investigation echoed these sentiments, highlighting the potential harm to employees’ future benefits and taxpayers.

This case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division with support from the U.S. Marshals Service and law enforcement partners in the Dominican Republic. Assistant United States Attorneys Alan A. Stevens and Benjamin M. Anderson prosecuted the case.