IRS Files $3.8 Million Lien as Businesses Await Answers from West Des Moines Payroll Provider

Dozens of West Des Moines and central Iowa small businesses have told Patch they're left with unanswered questions as they sort out the possible implications of millions of dollars in liens filed against their payroll outsourcing company, InFocus Partners of West Des Moines.

In early October, the IRS filed a nearly $1.2 million federal tax lien against InFocus Partners and its subsidiary, ILC Staffing Inc., seeking to collect payroll taxes that should have been paid during the past two quarters for the outsourcing company’s business clients.

According to lien filings reported by the Iowa Secretary of State, InFocus and its affiliated companies have been behind in tax payments off and on since 2006. The latest filing is part of an overall $3.8 million collection effort.

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Christopher James, an attorney for InFocus Partners’ founder John Vratsinas, said his client is committed to resolving tax liabilities “as expeditiously as possible.” Outstanding 2012 tax debts will be resolved by mid-October, he said.

If Vratsinas doesn’t make good on the payments, it could be disastrous for some businesses.

“If the company doesn’t remit the payroll taxes withheld for employees, the IRS and Iowa will come after the employers, who will end up paying the payroll taxes twice – a painful expense, and to some businesses a potentially fatal one,” West Des Moines CPA Joe Kristan wrote in widely read blog for the public accounting firm Roth & Co.

Catch up on the story on Patch:

• IRS Files Liens to Recover $3.8 Million from West Des Moines HR Outsourcing Company
• Victims Coming Forward in Alleged $3.8 Million Payroll Fraud by West Des Moines Company
• Future Could be 'Disastrous' for Businesses If $1.2 Million in Taxes Remains Unpaid