Eastern District of Louisiana | Thibodaux Man Sentenced for Failing to Account for and Pay Taxes
NEW ORLEANS – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on August 15, 2023, U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan sentenced CORNEL MARTIN, SR. (“MARTIN”), age 63, of Thibodaux, Louisiana, to serve 12 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, for failing to account for and pay over federal income taxes and Federal Insurance Contributions Act (“FICA”) taxes, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7202. Judge Morgan also ordered that MARTIN pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) in the amount of $2,681,379.96, and imposed a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.
According to court documents, MARTIN operated several businesses in Terrebonne Parish that provided temporary labor to shipyards and offshore oil rigs. MARTIN was the sole owner of each of the companies and controlled the companies’ finances. From 2012 to 2021, MARTIN’s various businesses withheld taxes from its employees’ paychecks, but MARTIN failed to pay over the withheld taxes to the IRS as required. All told, MARTIN’s willful failure to account for and pay trust fund and other taxes associated with his businesses between 2012 and 2021 resulted in a loss amount to the IRS between $1,500,000 and $3,500,000.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office would also like to acknowledge the work of the Internal Revenue Service on this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon S. Long of the Financial Crimes Unit.
