Newsletter october 2026
Volume 26, Number 10
Cheshier Tax Resolution Times
The Frontline Defender for the Distressed Taxpayer®
That IRS Caller May Be Wearing a Costume
Watch for demands to pay with gift cards or cryptocurrency, threats of immediate arrest, and unexpected requests for your Social Security number or banking information. Suspicious refund links and promises of guaranteed tax debt relief deserve the same caution.
The IRS generally starts contact by mail. Legitimate calls can happen, but the agency does not threaten immediate arrest or demand gift cards to settle a tax bill.
If a contact seems suspicious, hang up or stop responding. Do not click the link, scan the code or use the callback number provided. Go directly to IRS.gov or contact our office through a number you already know.
Read our recent blog, IRS Tax Scams: 7 Critical Warning Signs to Know for more warning signs and practical protection steps. Visit www.cheshiertaxresolution.com and look for this and other helpful articles.
Pause before you pay. Verify before you share.
Bookkeeper Took the Money and Left the Tax Bills
Kansas bookkeeper Nicole Clem withdrew clients’ money to pay their taxes. Instead, she spent it on travel, concert tickets, restaurants, student loans and other personal expenses.
Investigators identified more than 20 clients with combined losses exceeding $1 million. Clem also failed to pay $35,222 in employment taxes for her own business.
She pleaded guilty to wire fraud and failure to pay employment taxes. Sentencing is scheduled for December 2, 2026.
QUESTION:
Why did the accountant bring a flashlight to Halloween?
ANSWER:
To spot the shady deductions
Cash Payroll Did Not Stay Hidden
Henry Lam paid temporary workers mostly in cash. The payroll still caught up with him.
Lam owned HL Temporary Services, a Massachusetts staffing agency serving businesses throughout New England. From 2016 through 2023, client companies paid the agency for workers’ time. Lam cashed those checks at check-cashing businesses and paid employees primarily in cash.
The arrangement hid more than $6.2 million in payroll and avoided more than $1.5 million in required payroll taxes. Lam also used false payroll figures to obtain workers’ compensation insurance at lower rates.
After pleading guilty to failure to collect and pay over taxes and mail fraud, Lam was sentenced on September 30 to 13 months in prison and two years of supervised release. He must pay $1,652,573 in restitution
Special Tax Strategy Earns Five Years in Prison
Michael J. Moore offered clients a tax strategy that promised to eliminate their tax bills and often produce substantial refunds. His method relied on invented numbers.
Moore, a former CPA in Las Vegas, operated a tax preparation, bookkeeping and accounting business. From 2015 through 2025, he promoted a fraudulent tax shelter and charged clients fees that sometimes reached tens of thousands of dollars.
To generate the refunds, Moore fabricated business expenses and losses. Some returns claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses clients had never incurred.
In certain cases, he used a former employee’s identity to file returns without that person’s knowledge or permission. Even after being charged, Moore continued a separate false-return scheme using fictitious losses tied to companies that were dormant, defunct or conducting no business.
The schemes caused more than $3.5 million in tax losses. Moore pleaded guilty to tax evasion, helping a client file a false return, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. On September 2, he was sentenced to five years in prison.
Warm Wishes for a Wonderful Fall
Fall brings cooler days, familiar traditions and a calendar that fills up fast. We hope you find time to enjoy the season with the people who matter most.
Thank you for the trust you place in our team and for the friends, family members and businesses you send our way. Your referrals mean a great deal to us.
If an IRS letter is sitting on your kitchen counter, let’s make a plan before the holiday rush. We’re here to help you understand what comes next.
Bookkeeper Gave Herself Bonuses and Got Prison Time
A Wyoming bookkeeper used her access to payroll and bank accounts to steal nearly $1.5 million from her employer. She also concealed the stolen income from the IRS.
Laura Marie Means worked for a Jackson family business that owned lodging and hospitality properties. She controlled employee payroll, bank accounts and tax reporting.
After moving to Hawaii in 2019, Means continued working remotely. Her employer allowed the arrangement on the condition that she return to Jackson monthly. The theft continued through September 2025.
Means disguised unauthorized transfers to her personal accounts as ordinary business expenses in QuickBooks. She also diverted money through an unapproved bank account and issued herself duplicate salary payments and unearned bonuses.
Means pleaded guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax return. In September, she was sentenced to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
She was ordered to repay $1,484,104.80 to her former employer and $355,875.32 to the IRS.
Houston Preparer Put False Numbers In
Levi Casildo Castro prepared tax returns for clients but falsely marked them as self-prepared. That was only part of the problem.
Castro operated two Houston remodeling and cleaning businesses. She withheld federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes from employees’ wages but failed to send the money to the U.S. Treasury.
She also worked as a paid tax preparer without authorization. Her clients’ returns contained false wage and tax-withholding figures, along with false Social Security and Medicare tax information. The inflated amounts increased the earned income tax credits clients could receive.
Castro admitted her actions caused approximately $400,000 in losses to the Treasury. On September 28, she pleaded guilty to willful failure to collect and pay over tax and assisting in the preparation of false returns.
Sentencing is scheduled for December 16. She faces a maximum possible sentence of eight years in federal prison.
Did You Know?
You can request an IRS Identity Protection PIN even if you have never experienced identity theft. This six-digit number helps prevent someone else from filing a federal tax return using your SSN or ITIN. A new PIN is issued each year. Learn more at IRS.gov.
Important Upcoming Tax Deadlines
November 2, 2026
General third-quarter Form 941 filing deadline. Additional filing time may apply if all deposits were timely.
January 15, 2027
Fourth-quarter 2026 estimated income tax payments generally due for individuals.
We’d Like to Hear From You!
If you have an IRS issue, or just want to refer a friend, relative or client, we’d love to hear from you. We can provide a no-obligation confidential consultation to help you solve your IRS problems.
Irving – Adrienne @ 972-514-1424
Duncanville – Linda @ 469-647-9950
Pecos – Audra @ 432-445-4949 Greenville – Rachel @ 469-256-4056
Enter Our Trivia Contest for a Chance to Win a
$250 Transferrable Gift Certificate!
Take the Trivia Challenge to win!
Each month, we will give you a new trivia question. The first THREE people who call our office with the correct answer will win a free $250 reduction on any IRS Resolution service we provide. Your prize is also transferrable, so use it for yourself, or give it to a family member or friend. Take your best guess and call Nicole @ 469-647-9950
This month’s question is….
Which US President was born on the Fourth of July?
Call Nicole @ 469-647-9950 with your guess
Your IRS Questions Answered Here…
Question: Someone called saying I qualify for an IRS program that will erase my tax debt. They want my Social Security number and a payment plan today. Should I give them the information?
Answer: Stop and verify the contact before sharing anything. Scammers use official-sounding agency names and promises of quick relief to collect personal information and money. Legitimate tax relief depends on your financial situation, filing history and the rules of the specific program. An unexpected caller’s promise does not establish eligibility.
The IRS generally begins contact by mail, although legitimate calls can occur. Demands for immediate payment by gift card, threats of immediate arrest and pressure to provide sensitive information are warning signs. Hang up and contact the IRS through IRS.gov or call our office using a number you already trust. Do not use the caller’s callback number or link to verify the story. You can report suspected IRS impersonation through the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at TIGTA.gov. Report other fraud to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
If you have a genuine tax balance, we at Cheshier Tax Resolution can help you understand your options and work toward a resolution. Call Linda @ 469-647-9950 for a free, no-obligation, confidential consultation.