A Georgia man pleaded guilty today to seeking to obstruct the IRS in its efforts to collect employment taxes and related penalties.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from at least 2003, Douglas K. Mittleider of Adairsville, Georgia, operated long-term care facilities throughout the United States and was responsible for paying to the IRS the federal income and Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from employees’ wages. In June 2004, the IRS assessed against him personally the employment taxes Mittleider had not paid – also known as the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty. Beginning in at least November 2011, Mittleider took multiple steps to conceal business funds and impede the IRS’s ability to collect his outstanding tax liability. Among other things, Mittleider directed the commingling of funds among businesses he controlled and used funds for purposes other than to pay the IRS. Mittleider also caused the creation of new operating companies and bank accounts to make it more difficult for the IRS to locate assets and levy accounts. In total, Mittleider’s conduct caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $9.5 million.

Mittleider is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 4. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison, a term of supervised release, monetary penalties, and restitution. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Senior Litigation Counsel Sean Beaty and Trial Attorneys Ashley Stein and Andres Chinchilla of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.