California CEO Pleads Guilty To Employment Tax Crimes

OAKLAND – A South Lake Tahoe man pleaded guilty to willfully failing to pay employment tax withholdings due to the IRS, announced U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Oakland Field Office, Acting Special Agent in Charge Mark Silva.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2016 and 2017, Robert Hienekamp, 58, was the Chief Executive Officer of Endowance Solutions, Inc., a software consulting and development company. During each of those years, Endowance Solutions withheld income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes from its employees’ wages. Hienekamp, however, did not file the legally required quarterly employment tax returns or pay the withholdings due to the IRS, despite knowing of his obligation to do so. In total, Hienekamp caused a tax loss of over $800,000.

Hienekamp is scheduled to be sentenced on June 27, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

IRS-CI, Oakland Field Office, is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Mahana Weidler of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Lagrama of the Northern District of California are prosecuting the case.