The operator of Worcester, Massachusetts-based employment agencies was sentenced Dec. 13 to 25 months in prison and three years of supervised release for federal tax and fraud charges.

Tam Vuong, 46, was also ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture in amounts to be determined at a later date. He was arrested in 2019 and pleaded guilty in August 2021 to 14 counts of wire fraud and four counts of failing to pay taxes.

Vuong oversaw employment agencies Prime Labor LLC and UT Services Inc. Each agency paid a few employees by check but paid most employees in cash, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. Each company failed to report or pay taxes on the wages paid in cash, which Vuong fraudulently concealed in tax filings and workers’ compensation insurance audits. Vuong concealed millions of dollars in cash wages that were paid to Prime Labor workers and additional cash wages paid by UT Services. Between 2012 and 2017, more than $30 million in Prime Labor client company checks were cashed at a check-cashing business in Worcester; Prime Labor paid millions of these dollars in cash wages and then failed to report these wages to the IRS or to its insurer, according to the district attorney’s office.

In addition, while in his role overseeing and controlling UT Services, Vuong falsely told UT Services’ insurance carrier that the company had only one employee and an annual payroll of only $50,000, when, in actuality, UT Services had dozens of employees and a significantly higher payroll. According to the district attorney’s office, UT Services disseminated forged certificates of insurance to several clients and failed to inform clients when its workers’ compensation policy was cancelled.

Vuong shifted operations from Prime Labor to UT Services after federal search warrants were executed in November 2017.

In January, Julio Lopez, a former employee of Prime Labor and UT Services, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax charges and is currently scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 15. Linda Le, a former employee of UT Services, was sentenced in May to two years of probation after pleading guilty to perjury for giving false testimony before a federal grand jury.