Former mental health center owner charged with employment tax crimes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A former Middle Tennessee business owner has been indicted by a federal grand jury for failing to pay employment taxes to the IRS.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the grand jury returned the indictment charging Mari Alexander, of Columbia, South Carolina, with “willfully failing to account for and pay over employment taxes.”

According to the indictment, from at least 2015 through 2020, Alexander reportedly did not pay Social Security, Medicare and federal income taxes to the IRS despite withholding them from employees of Ross Behavioral Group (RBG), a mental health counseling center with multiple Middle Tennessee locations.

As president and owner of RBG from 2011 through 2023, Alexander controlled the business’s financial affairs. From at least 2015 through 2020, Alexander reportedly withheld the taxes but did not turn them over the IRS as required by law. Instead, Alexander issued W-2 forms and paystubs to employees that showed taxes taken out of their pay, falsely implying that taxes were paid to the IRS.

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In total, Alexander is alleged to have caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $1 million.

Alexander has been charged with 11 counts of willfully failing to account for and pay over employment taxes. If convicted, she would face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count. She would also face a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

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