Former Teemco President Sentenced to Prison for Tax Fraud

OKLAHOMA CITY – GREGORY DAMIEN LORSON, of Panama City Beach, Florida, was sentenced today to five years in prison for not paying federal payroll taxes withheld from wages of TEEMCO, LLC, employees, announced Robert J. Troester of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

On April 3, 2018, Lorson was charged in a one-count Information with willful failure to collect and pay federal payroll taxes to the IRS.  According to the Information, Lorson was President and Chief Executive Officer of TEEMCO, LLC, from 2010 until the business closed in mid-2015.  TEEMCO was an environmental sales and consulting company in Oklahoma City.  From 2010 to 2015, TEEMCO deducted and withheld federal income taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes (commonly called "payroll taxes") from wages of TEEMCO employees.  Under federal law, an employer must deduct and withhold payroll taxes from employees’ wages, and then pay those withheld taxes to the IRS at the end of each quarter.  According to the Information, instead of forwarding the withheld payroll taxes to the IRS, Lorson used that money to fund TEEMCO’s extensive advertising campaign and to pay other creditors and expenses.

Lorson pleaded guilty on June 15, 2018.  He admitted that TEEMCO withheld federal payroll taxes from employees’ wages and that he knew TEEMCO had a duty to pay those withheld taxes to the IRS.  Lorson admitted that he directed TEEMCO employees not to forward the withheld payroll taxes to the IRS.  He also admitted that he failed to file with the IRS quarterly federal tax returns for TEEMCO from 2010 to 2015.  As part of his plea agreement, he agreed to pay $3,003,220.47 in restitution to the IRS for withheld payroll taxes and other federal taxes that TEEMCO never paid to the IRS for company employees.  Lorson also agreed to pay an additional $542,162.53 in restitution to the Oklahoma Tax Commission for TEEMCO employees’ state taxes that were withheld but never paid to state tax authorities.    

Today Chief U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton sentenced Lorson to five years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  The court chose a sentence above the advisory sentencing guideline range and at the statutory maximum based on the circumstances of the offense and other factors.  Lorson will also be required to pay restitution in the amount of $3,545,383.00. 

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by IRS–Criminal Investigations and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris M. Stephens.

Reference is made to public filings for further information.