Adult Foster Care Home Owners Didn’t Pay Unemployment Taxes: Feds

WASHINGTON, DC – The owners of 16 adult foster care homes across Michigan face 60 counts of failing to pay unemployment taxes for its employees in a federal grand jury indictment returned and unsealed Wednesday, the Justice Department said.

Jeremiah and Nicolette Cheff, of Grand Blanc, are accused of withholding payroll taxes from their employees’ paychecks, but never accounting for or or paying them to the Internal Revenue Service. The alleged fraud occurred from September 2010 through September 2014, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court.

The Cheffs controlled the financial and business operations of 16 foster care homes, including Hunter’s Home, Nico’s Place, Harmony Manor, Hilltop Estates and Deerwood Manor, which cared for individuals with mental illnesses and developmental and physical disabilities.

If convicted, the Cheffs face a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count charged in the indictment, as well as a period of supervised release and monetary penalties.

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