A federal grand jury has returned a 54-count indictment against a Georgia accountant accused of defrauding trucking clients, most of them self-employed drivers. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Georgia announced the charges against Diane Marie Poe, 62, of Loganville, on Aug. 13.
Poe owns an accounting and tax preparation firm that handled bookkeeping, payroll and tax filings for small carriers and owner-operators. Prosecutors allege she collected payments for filing services she never performed and kept estimated payroll and trust fund taxes rather than forwarding them to the Internal Revenue Service. The indictment also accuses her of failing to file her own personal and corporate returns and failing to pay payroll taxes for her own staff.
At least 26 clients are named in the case. The list covers small fleets and owner-operator businesses including Anderson Transport, JJC Transport, Holifield Express, Marquez Transport, RGA7 Trucking, Two Bears Trucking, Dixie Line, Salty Dog Logistics, 4B Trucking and Stealth Transportation Express, along with a driver employed by Schneider.
The charges break down into 32 counts of bank fraud, 14 counts of failure to account for and pay over withholding and FICA taxes, four counts of failure to file a corporate tax return, two counts of making and subscribing a false return and two counts of federal program theft. Each bank fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 30 years, while federal program theft carries up to 10 years.
The FBI and IRS have asked anyone who hired the firm to contact the FBI field office in Atlanta, noting that the business spread through word of mouth inside the trucking community. An indictment is an allegation, and Poe is presumed innocent.
Source: Trucking Dive - https://www.truckingdive.com/news/truck-drivers-targeted-in-alleged-tax-fraud-scheme/828745/