Chesapeake Exec August Cooks the Books for $1.2M

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Shane August, 36, of Chesapeake, isn’t just building a business – he was building a case. The home-healthcare entrepreneur pleaded guilty today to systematically defrauding the Internal Revenue Service out of a staggering $1.2 million. Forget a little tax evasion; this was a full-blown assault on the system.

Court documents paint a picture of a man living large while stiffing both the government and his employees. From 2013 through 2017, August ran his Chesapeake business and simultaneously ran a shadow operation designed to conceal his wealth. He allegedly stashed cash, operated secret bank accounts, and deliberately avoided any paper trail that might attract the IRS’s attention. It wasn’t about smart business; it was about brazen theft.

The scheme was multi-layered. August withheld roughly $900,000 in employment taxes from around 60 workers, but never actually sent that money to the IRS. He then had the gall to issue fraudulent tax forms to his employees, letting them believe their contributions were going to Social Security. They filed their taxes in good faith, while August pocketed the cash. It’s a particularly cruel twist that leaves those workers potentially facing issues with their own tax records.

But the deception didn’t stop there. Between 2014 and 2017, August reported over $900,000 in personal income to the IRS… and then simply refused to pay the associated taxes, racking up over $288,000 in personal income tax debt. Instead of fulfilling his obligations, he funneled the money into personal luxuries: a home building contract and a fancy vehicle lease. Talk about priorities.

U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber and IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon announced the guilty plea after it was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask. Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Mack Coleman is prosecuting the case, and we at Grimy Times will be watching closely. August is scheduled for sentencing on March 24, 2022, and faces a maximum of five years behind bars. While maximum sentences rarely stick, this guy deserves a lengthy stretch to consider his actions.

This isn’t just about numbers on a balance sheet. It’s about a betrayal of trust, a disregard for the law, and a blatant attempt to enrich himself at the expense of honest taxpayers and hardworking employees. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia has more information on this case, and related court documents can be found on PACER (Case No. 4:21-cr-62). Consider this a warning: we’re watching, and the IRS is always auditing.