COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – A University of South Carolina vice president was indicted in federal court last week after investigators accused him of failing to pay employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.
A university spokesperson confirmed that Vice-Chancellor for Student Health and Wellbeing Mari Ross-Alexander has resigned and her last day at the school will be October 23.
The indictment was first reported Tuesday by the university’s student newspaper, the Daily Gamecock.
Ms Ross-Alexander began her role at the university in July 2023, with responsibility for counseling and substance abuse.
The complaint from the U.S. Department of Justice relates to a company she ran in Tennessee called Ross Behavioral Group, a mental health counseling center.
Ross-Alexander is charged with 11 counts of “willful failure to pay employment taxes.” The maximum sentence for each of these charges is five years, and the maximum fine is $250,000, or twice the amount of loss or loss resulting from the crime.
Ross Alexander was the company’s owner and president from 2011 to 2023, according to a federal indictment.
She has more than 10 years of experience in higher education and previously served as vice president for student affairs at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, according to her biography on USC’s website.
Federal investigators found that Ross-Alexander withheld federal taxes from employees’ paychecks but did not pay them in full to the IRS, the indictment said.
The indictment alleges that each year from at least 2015 through 2021, she issued documents and tax returns to employees that “falsely” suggested that withheld funds were being provided to the IRS. I am doing it.
Her unpaid taxes totaled more than $1 million, according to the indictment.
The IRS began contacting Ross Alexander in October 2018 regarding unpaid taxes, according to filings. Despite repeated attempts to contact her, she did not repay the taxes, the indictment states.
Then, in May 2020, Ross Alexander’s company received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan as part of relief sent to local businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
Ross Alexander’s company was awarded more than $130,000 in employee and tax payments, but she continued to withhold taxes on her employees’ accounts and file them with the IRS on her employees’ behalf. He failed to pay taxes, the indictment says.
The indictment also alleges that she is the sole person with financial responsibility for Ross Behavior Group.
Feel more informed, prepared, and connected to WIS. For more free content like this, subscribe to our email newsletter and download our app. Have feedback to help us improve? Click here.
Copyright 2024 WIS. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
