PORTLAND, Ore. — Rosa Cazares, chief executive officer of Oregon cannabis company La Mota and payroll processing company 503 Staffing LLC, has been charged with allegedly failing to pay more than $1.5 million in federal payroll taxes, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.
A federal grand jury in Portland returned an eight-count indictment charging Cazares with willfully failing to collect, account for and pay federal payroll taxes, U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford announced.
According to the indictment, Cazares lived in Portland and oversaw the financial affairs of both companies. Her responsibilities included withholding federal income taxes, Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes from employee wages and remitting the funds to the Internal Revenue Service.
Employers are required to deposit withheld payroll taxes, along with their matching contributions, and file quarterly federal employment tax returns.
Prosecutors allege that between March 2020 and December 2021, Cazares failed to properly collect, account for or pay required payroll taxes for La Mota and 503 Staffing.
The alleged unpaid trust fund taxes totaled $1,542,413 over eight calendar quarters. Each quarter of alleged nonpayment constitutes a separate count under federal law, according to the indictment.
The charges fall under 26 U.S.C. § 7202, which prohibits the willful failure to collect or pay over certain taxes.
If convicted, Cazares faces up to five years in federal prison, fines and restitution for each count, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith D.M. Bateman is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is an accusation, not a finding of guilt. Cazares is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
