Jeremiah Cheff, Tax Evasion, Michigan 2010

Jeremiah and Nicolette Cheff, owners of 16 adult foster care homes in Michigan, indicted on 60 counts of tax evasion.

A federal grand jury in Michigan returned an indictment on October 19, charging Jeremiah and Nicolette Cheff, owners of 16 adult foster care homes, with 60 counts of failing to account for and pay over employment taxes. The indictment, unsealed today, alleges that from September 2010 through September 2014, the Cheffs withheld payroll taxes from their employees’ paychecks, failed to timely file employment tax returns, and failed to pay over the funds they withheld to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

According to the indictment, the Cheffs controlled the financial and business operations of 16 foster care homes, including Hunter’s Home, Nico’s Place, Harmony Manor, Hilltop Estates, and Deerwood Manor, which cared for individuals with mental illnesses and developmental and physical disabilities.

If convicted, the Cheffs face a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count charged in the indictment, as well as a period of supervised release and monetary penalties.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo, head of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, announced the indictment today. Ciraolo thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Jeffrey A. McLellan and Carl F. Brooker, IV of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case. Ciraolo also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan for its substantial assistance.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Jeffrey A. McLellan and Carl F. Brooker, IV of the Tax Division. Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.

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