Court Upholds Payroll Tax Fraud Conviction

A federal appellate court upheld a business owner's conviction for payroll tax fraud. Case: U.S. v. Cole, No. 26-473, 09/30/2026, unpublished. Facts: Contractor George Cole, who owned Cole NYC LLC, failed to pay the Internal Revenue Service more than $1.5 million in employment-related taxes between 2016 and 2020. Between November 2021 and April 2023, Cole failed to maintain workers’ compensation insurance and filed two forged certificates claiming that he had secured coverage while he continued to accept jobs throughout the city. During the same period, he failed to pay appro...