Louisiana Man Charged with Defrauding Employer and Filing False Taxes

Published February 22, 2022

Louisiana –  A Louisiana man has been charged with defrauding his employer of approximately $549,667.39 by allegedly carrying out a scheme by sending false invoices from shell companies he set up, when the work was either done by his employers’ own employees or not done at all.

U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced the filing of a two-count bill of information charging Michael J. Goll, age 46, of Kentwood, Louisiana with wire fraud and filing false federal tax returns. The charges were filed on Friday, February 11, 2022. U.S. District Judge Wendy B. Vitter will preside over the case.

Goll was the New Orleans branch manager of Company A, which provides material handling equipment to businesses, according to court documents. Goll defrauded Company A of approximately $549,667.39 between January 2013 and September 2017. Goll is accused of carrying out the scheme by sending Company A false invoices from shell companies he set up, when the work was either done by Company A’s own employees or not done at all. Goll used a contractor who did personal work for Goll to inflate his bills to Company A to cover the work done for Goll as part of the scheme.

Goll justified the overbilling by telling the contractor that he planned to buy Company A in the future, despite the fact that Goll never bought Company A and never informed his employer about the overbilling. Furthermore, the bill of information alleges that Goll filed false federal tax returns, claiming that for tax year 2017, he claimed a negative income of $22,102.00 when his income was $325,232.00.

Count 1 of the bill of information charges Goll with wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. On that count, the maximum penalties are 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.00.

Count 2 charges Goll with filing false federal tax returns in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(1). The maximum penalties for this count are three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a $100,000.00 fine. Each count is also subject to a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.

U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that a bill of information is merely an accusation and that the guilt of a defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

This Louisiana case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew R. Payne is in charge of the prosecution.

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