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Press Release

Owner Of Harrisburg Labor Supply Businesses Charged With Withholding Tax Fraud

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Pennsylvania

     The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced today that a federal grand jury in Harrisburg returned a 17-count indictment against Howard Ginting, age 29, of Harrisburg, PA, on January 22, 2014.  The Indictment charges Ginting with tax evasion and with failing to pay withholding taxes totaling $216,846.70 on income of approximately $1 million.  Howard Ginting was the sole owner of Ginting Enterprises, Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania  

     According to U.S. Attorney Peter Smith, Ginting Enterprises allegedly supplied day laborers to businesses in central and northeastern Pennsylvania on an as-needed basis.  As the owner and operator of the corporation, Ginting was required to withhold from the wages of the GEI employees the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes on a quarterly basis.  From October, 2006 through on or about February, 2008, Ginting Enterprises allegedly paid wages totaling approximately $851,553.  Ginting falsely reported to the IRS that he had only paid wages in the amount of approximately $68,549, underpaying the Social Security tax and Medicare taxes owed by GEI by approximately $119,799.

     On or about February, 2008, Ginting shut down Ginting Enterprises and operated his same labor supply business under the name Trojan Services, Inc.  Between February, 2008 and May, 2011, while being operated by Ginting, Trojan paid wages of approximately $638,477, but Ginting allegedly failed to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) all wages paid to his employees, underpaying Social Security tax and Medicare taxes owed by Trojan by approximately $97,047.  This resulted in underreporting the employee and employer share of the Social Security and Medicare taxes in the total amount of approximately $216,846.

     The case was investigated by the Harrisburg office of the Internal Revenue Service.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Zubrod coordinated the grand jury investigation and has been assigned to prosecute the case.

     Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

     A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

     In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is 75 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine of over $300,000 as well as significant tax penalties. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

Updated April 17, 2015