Date: September 14, 2023 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that James Michael Barr, of Cogan Station, Pennsylvania, was indicted by a federal grand jury on federal tax charges. According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that Barr, as the owner of Barr Construction, failed to withhold payroll taxes from his employees from 2017 through 2020, and failed to pay these taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is five years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
