Swansea Woman Who Operated Temp Agency Pleads Guilty To Fraud, Tax Crimes

SWANSEA, MA – The operator of several temporary employment agencies pleaded guilty in federal court this week to her role in an off-the-books scheme to evade federal employment taxes and workers' compensation insurance premiums, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Souleang Kane, 48, of Swansea, pleaded guilty to 18 counts of willful failure to collect and pay over taxes to the Internal Revenue Service and five counts of mail fraud.

Authorities said from 2010-2015, Kane operated a series of temp agencies under the names Expert Staffing, Affordable Staffing and M&K Temp Inc., which provided labor for agricultural companies in Massachusetts. According to the USAO, she failed to report approximately $4.3 million that her agencies paid in employee wages, which allowed her to avoid collecting and paying both the taxes required to be withheld from the employee and the taxes required to be paid by the employer.

Ultimately, Kane evaded payment of more than $1.3 million in federal taxes, the USAO said. She also understated her business' payroll in dealings with her workers' compensation insurance providers, resulting in her premiums being fraudulently reduced by more than $100,000 during that five-year period.

Kane is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 9, 2018.

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