BERLIN, Md. - A Berlin man was sentenced on Thursday after federal prosecutors say he failed to account for and contribute his employee’s payroll taxes to the IRS.
As WBOC previously reported, Brett Hill was convicted in April of 2025 on 16 counts of failing to collect and pay over payroll taxes. Hill was the CEO of two telecommunications companies and was responsible for withholding federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes from employee wages.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Department of Justice say Hill instead paid himself a salary and covered other expenses with the deducted pay from 2016 to 2018.
In total, prosecutors say Hill caused a total tax loss of $2 million.
On Thursday, March 12, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher sentenced Hill to 18 months in prison. Following his imprisonment, Hill was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay just over $658,000 in restitution to the federal government.