Michael Taylor, 48, and Jeanette Taylor, 44, of Wayne County, West Virginia, pleaded guilty today to federal charges for stealing more than $1.4 million in employment taxes from their construction workers. The couple, who ran a gritty, decades-long operation moving steel and selling gravel and concrete across West Virginia and Kentucky, admitted to siphoning off wages meant for the IRS and funneling them into personal luxuries — including property and a horse farm.
Michael Taylor copped to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, covering the period from mid-2007 through 2010. During those years, he and Jeanette withheld over $850,000 from their employees’ paychecks — taxes for income, Social Security, and Medicare. Instead of forwarding the funds to the IRS, the Taylors treated the money like a private slush fund. Jeanette Taylor separately pleaded guilty to one count of failing to pay over employment taxes specifically for the final quarter of 2009.
Their business, a rotating shell under names like Taylor Contracting & Taylor Ready-Mix LLC, Taylor Contracting/Taylor Ready-Mix LLC, and later Bluegrass Aggregates, operated with little oversight for over a decade. Despite the name changes, the hustle remained the same: heavy construction, material hauling, and payroll that never made it to Uncle Sam. From 1999 to 2010, the operation ran full throttle — and so did the fraud.
Not only did the Taylors dodge their tax duties on current employees, they also left a $490,000 tab unpaid from an earlier business venture. Investigators say the total tax loss to the federal government now stands at $1.4 million. This wasn’t oversight — it was a deliberate, years-long scheme to live high on the hog while workers’ withheld taxes vanished into thin air.
Sentencing is set for Jan. 23, 2017. Both face a statutory maximum of five years in federal prison, plus supervised release and steep financial penalties. The case was cracked open by IRS-Criminal Investigation agents, with prosecution led by Trial Attorneys Alexander Effendi and Mara Strier of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. IRS Field Collection also played a key role in tracking down the financial wreckage.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Carol A. Casto for the Southern District of West Virginia issued statements praising the investigation. But for the employees whose wages were plundered, justice comes late. The Taylors’ greed didn’t just break the law — it betrayed the very people who powered their enterprise.
Related Federal Cases
- Michael and Jeanette Taylor Jailed for $1.4M Tax Theft · Kentucky
- Karen L. Hodges Pleads Guilty to $40K in Counterfeit Check Fraud · Indiana
- Logan Doc and Nurse Hit with Charges in $2.75B Fraud Scam · Kentucky
- Tax Cheat Sentenced to Prison · Kentucky
- 23andMe Faces Legal Fire for Genetic Data Sale · Washington
Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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