Johnson County tax preparer pleads guilty to fraud

The owner of a Lenexa tax-preparation company pleaded guilty to wire fraud Wednesday in a scheme in which he kept employment taxes that were owed to the IRS by a client.

John M. Moore, owner of Accent Payroll Services or APS, was hired to manage the payroll of another Lenexa company. He received more than $2 million in employment tax withholdings from the client but paid the Internal Revenue Service only about $1.3 million.

Moore intercepted notices from the IRS to keep his client from learning about the scheme.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 29. Moore could get 20 years for wire fraud and three years for filing a false return.

This story was originally published March 12, 2014 at 8:15 PM with the headline "Johnson County tax preparer pleads guilty to fraud."