Date: May 10, 2024 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov SCRANTON — The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Jose L. Ortiz of Drums, Pennsylvania, was charged May 8, 2024, in a criminal Information with conspiring to commit honest services fraud. According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the Information alleges that, during his tenure as a manager and director at a Pennsylvania food services company from 2014 to 2021, Ortiz and his coconspirators accepted cash bribes and other things of value from other coconspirators who owned and operated Global Staffing Services, Inc. and Penns Independent Staffing. Global Staffing Services, Inc. and Penns Independent Staffing were two companies that leased temporary employees to Ortiz’s company. In exchange for the kickbacks, Ortiz and his coconspirators entered contracts with and hired the temporary employees of the two staffing companies. Allegedly, over $18,000,000 were paid to the two staffing companies, in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks. Ortiz allegedly received approximately $200,000 of those cash kickbacks. Six other individuals were previously prosecuted in this investigation: Mark Holmes of Hughes Springs, Texas, pleaded guilty to accepting, as the General Manager of the Pennsylvania food services company, approximately $400,000 in bribes and kickbacks from Global Staffing Services, Inc. and Penns Independent Staffing, in exchange for hiring their employees. The two temporary staffing companies, in turn, received approximately $7,800,000 from Holmes’s employer. Holmes also pleaded guilty to failing to remit approximately $135,000 in employment taxes to the IRS that were owed by Encore Staffing Solutions LLC, another temporary staffing company that he owned and operated. Encore Staffing Solutions LLC leased temporary employees to manufacturing businesses throughout Pennsylvania. Holmes awaits sentencing. Madeline Nieves of Plains, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to a tax fraud conspiracy. Nieves conspired with other individuals to defraud the IRS, from 2018 to 2020, in connection with staffing company Encore Staffing Solutions LLC, which she owned and operated. Nieves failed to report Encore Staffing Solutions LLC employee wages to the IRS, resulting in approximately $67,000 in employment taxes owed, but never paid, by Encore to the IRS. Nieves also failed to report her own personal income from Encore Staffing Solutions LLC to the IRS. Nieves was sentenced to 15 months of imprisonment. Nari Lam of Wilmington, Delaware, pleaded guilty to failing to remit employment taxes to the IRS. From 2016 through 2020, Nari Lam, as the owner of temporary staffing company Penns Independent Staffing, failed to pay approximately $300,000 in employment taxes owed by Penns Independent Staffing to the IRS. Nari Lam was sentenced to three years of probation. Danny Sing of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to conspiring with other individuals to evade federal income taxes for approximately $1,600,000 in wages paid by Global Staffing Services, Inc. to its employees, and to failing to withhold and remit approximately $1,360,000 in federal employment taxes to the IRS. Danny Sing and his coconspirators paid Global Staffing Services, Inc. employees in cash, paid themselves in cash, and cashed all checks received from Global Staffing Services, Inc.’s clients, to conceal the income and wages from the IRS. The criminal activities occurred between 2013 and 2020. Sing also pleaded guilty to providing in excess of approximately $400,000 in bribes and kickbacks to managers and supervisors at Global Staffing Services, Inc.’s client, to obtain business for Global Staffing Services, Inc. Sing awaits sentencing. Den Lam of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged in an information alleging that he conspired with other individuals to evade federal income taxes for approximately $1,600,000 in wages paid by Global Staffing Services, Inc. to its employees. Den Lam also was charged with failing to withhold and remit approximately $1,360,000 in federal employment taxes owed, but never paid, by Global Staffing Services, Inc. to the IRS. Jason R. Bonnewell of North Abington Township, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to accepting, as a supervisor of the Pennsylvania food services company, approximately $150,000 in bribes and kickbacks from Global Staffing Services, Inc. and Penns Independent Staffing, in exchange for hiring their employees. The two temporary staffing companies, in turn, received approximately $13,000,000 from Bonnewell’s employer. Bonnewell also pleaded guilty to failing to disclose cash income on his personal tax returns. Bonnewell awaits sentencing. The cases were investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI). The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo. The maximum penalty under federal law is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. 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. Indictments and informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court. CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.
